Philadelphia Union opened the Bradley Carnell era with a resounding road win to begin its 16th season, defeating Orlando City SC by a 4-2 scoreline on Saturday night.
It was the Union's big three powering the way for the Boys in Blue with forward Tai Baribo scoring a brace while Daniel Gazdag and Mikael Uhre added second half strikes to complete the road comeback. It was the home side that struck first with an eighth minute goal from Marco Pašalić. Philly answered back with Baribo's first of the night in the 24th minute to level the match at the break.
Like a bolt of lightning featured in their all-new Voltage Kits, the Union offense struck quickly with all-time leading goalscorer Daniel Gazdag scoring from a tight angle to put the road side ahead for good. Three minutes later the Union's positioning put them in prime position to take advantage of a mistake at the back with Uhre blasting a one timer from the top of the box. Baribo scored just after the hour mark to complete the big three scoring in the second half.
Philadelphia Union returns to Subaru Park for its 2025 home opener against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, March 1st. Kick off from Chester is set for 7:30PM ET with limited tickets for the Eastern Conference clash available for purchase by clicking here.
How The Match Unfolded
Philadelphia Union began their first match of the 2025 season in a 4-2-2-2 with lineup featuring three first-time Union starters in Jovan Lukic, Olwethu Makhanya, and Homegrown Frankie Westfield. With the start, Westfield became the 10th homegrown in club history to start a season opener.
Andre Blake started in net, earning his 300th appearance with the club across all competitions, and in front of him, the backline featured Westfield and Kai Wagner as outside backs, and Makhanya and Jakob Glesnes paired at centerback.
Lukic joined Daniel Gazdag, Danley Jean Jacques, and Quinn Sullivan in the midfield, with Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo paired up top.
The club's two most recent signings were unable to make the trip, but there were still new faces on the bench in Neil Pierre and Ian Glavinovich, on the sidelines alongside Andrew Rick, the night;s backup goalkeeper, Cavan Sullivan, Jesus Bueno, Alejandro Bedoya, Jeremy Rafanello, Olivier Mbaizo, and Chris Donovan.
8', Orlando City claim first lead | The hosts earned the first lead of the match early, finding the back of the net in the first 10 minutes of play. Productive passing the sideline set up a powerful shot from one of their newest additions in 24-year-old winger Marco Pašalić.
24', Baribo opens scoring for Philly! | Philadelphia didn't back down despite the deficit -- instead, they pushed numbers forward, leveling the score 1-1 with a team goal finished by Baribo. Sullivan played the facilitator, passing into the box without luck, but Wagner chased down the deflected ball to send it back in towards the team's 28-year-old Israeli striker for the finish.
35', Blake makes big save | Pasalic attempted to bag a second goal in his first appearance as an Orlando City player taking a blast from outside the box, but he was stifled by a big stop by Blake, donning the captain’s armband for Philly.
48', Gazdag goal | Philadelphia Union emerged from the locker room strong, claiming their first lead of the match less than five minutes after the start of the second half. Sullivan spurred the attack again, this time driving up the left side for a picture-perfect pass to the right post, where Daniel Gazdag was waiting for the finish.
51', Mikael Uhre makes it 3-1! | Less than three minutes after Gazdag hit the back of the net, Mikael Uhre made it 3-1, taking the ball from Rodrigo Schlegel to take a line drive shot toward Pedro Gallese, uprepared to block his shot.
64', Baribo bags a brace to extend the lead | The front three for the Boys in Blue kept the offense rolling in the second half with the Israeli striker netting his second goal of the evening. Again the action started from the flank with a strong run by Westfield to charge into the box before seeting his one time pass deflected. The Union homegrown kept with it and regained possession for a quick centering pass that Baribo buried on his first touch.
79', Orlando trims the lead to two | Having never lost a season opener in front of its home crowd, Orlando City trimmed the lead to two with a scramble in the box leading to a shot from Pasalic that snuck through the Union defense for his second goal of the night.
