NEW YORK (Monday, May 4, 2026) – Orlando City SC midfielder MartÃn Ojeda was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA for Matchday 11 of the 2026 MLS season.
Ojeda scored a hat trick on the road in Orlando City SC’s come-from-behind 4-3 victory over rivals Inter Miami CF on Saturday (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). With his three goals, Ojeda joined Cyle Larin as the only players in club history to score multiple regular-season hat tricks, after he produced one on May 10, 2025 against the New England Revolution. The Argentine midfielder is one of four players to have at least one hat trick in each of the last two seasons, alongside Tai Baribo, Denis Bouanga, and Sam Surridge. Ojeda also became the first player in club history to record at least 70 regular-season goal contributions (33 goals, 37 assists). With the victory, Orlando City became the fourth team in MLS history to win a match after trailing by at least three goals and the first to do so since the LA Galaxy against LAFC on March 31, 2018.
After falling behind 3-0, 18-year-old Justin Ellis flicked on a pass to Ojeda, who lasered a shot from 20 yards away in the 39th minute to trim the deficit (Watch Here). In the 68th minute, Ojeda added his second goal of the game with a pinpoint shot off the post and into the net (Watch Here). Orlando City earned a penalty kick in the 79th minute and Ojeda stepped up and calmly completed his hat trick by sending the Miami goalkeeper the wrong way to tie the game 3-3 (Watch Here), before Tyese Spicer snagged all three points in stoppage time (Watch Here).
This is the first time that Ojeda has been named MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA and he is the first Orlando City player to earn the honor since Luis Muriel on Matchday 28 of 2025. Ojeda joins Lionel Messi (eight times) as the only Argentine-born players in the last two seasons to take home MLS Player of the Matchday honors.
Orlando and Ojeda return to action on Matchday 12 when they travel to face CF Montréal at Stade Saputo on Saturday, May 9 (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV).
The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob ULTRA is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
|
