Orlando City breaks hex and beats Columbus Crew on the road | OneFootball

The Lions broke the hex. Late in their match with the Columbus Crew, a player started a remarkable surge to win the game.

Orlando City SC's losses and draws recently haven’t been difficult to analyze. Most became evident late in the match. Lions playing like they’re tired in the second half and making blunders sealed their fate. So what went so right in their 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew?

Analyzing what goes right isn’t difficult, either. The Lions' defense fought to keep the match close. Then they unleashed a furious offensive effort in the final half hour that the Crew couldn’t fight off.

Everyone but Orlando players and coaches thought they’d fallen to their hex again. After a scoreless first half, winger Marco Pasalic was charged with a handball, leading to a penalty kick. Columbus striker Diego Rossi cashed in on the penalty, making it 1-0 in the 66th minute.

Unlike previous matches, Orlando didn’t start plotting around the score. Instead, they reloaded. They substituted in a fresh and eager forward, Ramiro Enrique.

By the 76th minute, Enrique caught Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte on the left as he directed a header to the bottom-right of the goal. Ivan Angulo and Martin Ojeda earned assists on that goal and three minutes later on Enrique’s brace that put the Lions up 2-1. But they weren’t finished.

Six minutes into second-half stoppage time, Ojeda got his score with a left-footed shot to the bottom-left corner of the net, assisted by defender Alex Freeman.

Jul 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Orlando City midfielder Martin Ojeda (10) heads the ball at the goal as Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (1) looks on during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja credited their performance to a tactical respect players insisted on during drills in the week before the match.

The stoppage-time goal by Ojeda earned him the club's all-time lead in goal contributions for a single-season with 25, surpassing Nani’s 22. His total contributions reached 57, tying former Lion Facundo Torres for the club lead.

Enrique’s brace gives him 25 career goals across all competitions, tying former player Kaka for sixth-most in club history.

Orlando City SC picked a formidable opponent to exercise 90 full minutes of strong play. But they made it work, and it will work again.