D.C. United topped Orlando City SC 1-0, but the preseason win was overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to D.C. and US national team winger Paul Arriola.
The Washington Post's Steven Goff cited witnesses as saying the 25-year-old went down in the penalty area in the 30th minute under a challenge from an Orlando player. Though further testing is needed to confirm the injury, team officials said they suspected Arriola tore his right ACL, an injury that could keep him out for a significant portion of the 2020 season, if not all of it. Head coach Ben Olsen told the Post that the injury "doesn't look good."
Michael Gamble scored the game's only goal in the 77th minute.
Orlando City nearly equalized a minute later, but goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. laid out to make the save, allowing DCU to see out the 1-0 result.
D.C. United move to 2W-2L-0D on the preseason, coming off another 1-0 victory over Louisville City FC on Feb. 6. Ben Olsen's men will take the field for their next preseason match against expansion side Nashville SC on Wednesday. It was the first preseason defeat for Orlando City, which fell to 4W-1L-0D ahead of its next fixture against Icelandic side KR Reykjavik on Tuesday.
Goals
- 77' - DCU - Michael Gamble
Lineups
D.C. United starting XI: Bill Hamid, Joseph Mora, Steve Birnbaum, Frederic Brillant, Russell Canouse, Junior Moreno, Felipe Martins, Julian Gressel, Ulises Segura, Paul Arriola, Ola Kamara
Orlando City SC's lineup information was not available for this preseason friendly
