Atlanta United 2 Breaks Records in 5-1 Win Over Orlando City B

Starting Lineup

Atlanta United 2 overwhelmed Orlando City B with four second-half goals in a 5-1 win Saturday afternoon at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta.

Atlanta entered the match seventh in the Eastern Conference after defeating Chicago Fire FC II four days earlier. Orlando arrived one point behind Atlanta following four consecutive losses. Lions head coach Eddie Wilding made three changes from the defeat in Chicago, adding Issah Haruna, Nolan Miller and Landon Okonski to the starting lineup.

Cameron Dunbar scored twice before Arif Kovac added two goals of his own, breaking Atlanta United 2’s single-season scoring record. Patrick Weah also scored as Atlanta established new team records for goals and points in a season. The victory gave the Five Stripes 40 points and strengthened their pursuit of the first playoff appearance in team history.

1st Half

From the opening whistle, Orlando pressed with its front three and produced the first shot in the 5th minute. Matthew Belgodere moved the ball inside to Nicolas Lasheras, whose attempt from outside the penalty area rolled wide.

Atlanta responded four minutes later with the first sustained attack. Santiago Pita swung a corner into the box, where Arif Kovac sent a header towards goal. Tristan Himes made the save, but the ball dropped to Mohamed Cisset. His attempted rebound went wide.

Atlanta continued pushing Orlando backwards and directing play towards the wings. Amir Henry raced down the right in the 20th minute and delivered an uncontested cross towards Kovac. The striker was left open in front of goal, but headed over the bar.

Orlando was forced into an early change after Albright Chikamso collided with Matthew Senanou following an Atlanta shot. Chikamso received treatment on his lower right leg and attempted to continue, but pulled up again several minutes later. He walked off under his own power before Nicolas Bobea Torres replaced him in the 19th minute.

Henry worked the ball back to Daniel Chica near the byline, but Orlando cleared Chica’s cross before it could reach a teammate. Dominik Chong Qui collected the next attack and cut inside, where his shot was blocked for a corner. Orlando headed away Jardines’ ensuing corner, and Pita sent the second ball high and wide in the 41st minute. A minute later, Orlando’s attempt to clear an underhit pass from Ransom fell to Dunbar. He clipped the ball back into the box, where Kovac headed it towards goal and forced Himes into a save.

Jardines collected a loose ball in the 47nd minute and quickly passed to Pita before continuing his run into the box. Pita lifted the return pass over Orlando’s defense, allowing Jardines to reach it on the right. Jardines pulled the ball back to an unmarked Dunbar near the penalty spot, and Dunbar struck it with his right foot inside the near post for the opening goal.

Pedro Leão found space outside the penalty area in the 51st minute. Ransom made a full-stretch save to push the ball out for a corner. Atlanta wasn’t able to clear the danger. The ball returned to Leão on the left, and he switched play across the field to Hylton on the right. Hylton entered the box and tried to move past Sibrian, but the ball came loose during the challenge and fell to Haruna. Haruna struck it first time, and the shot deflected off Chong Qui before rolling beyond Ransom.

Haruna remained down following a sliding challenge shortly after the equalizer, drawing protests from Orlando’s players. Silva argued from Atlanta’s technical area before fourth official Daniel Emeri came over to speak with the bench. Orlando sent one final free kick into the box, but Atlanta headed it away before the halftime whistle ended a tense final few minutes. After blowing the whistle, referee Izlen Peksenar appeared to show a yellow card to someone on the Atlanta bench as the teams left the field tied 1-1.

2nd Half

José Silva replaced D.D. Sibrian with Ignacio Suarez-Couri at halftime, giving Atlanta a fresh presence beside Jardines in midfield. Orlando also made a change as Caleb Trombino replaced Nolan Miller.

Chica attempted to switch play towards the left, but his pass fell short. Chong Qui recovered the ball and moved it inside to Suarez-Couri, who found Jardines in the middle of Orlando’s half. Jardines nearly overran the pass but regained control and played the ball ahead to Dunbar. Dunbar stepped into the open space and shot from 25 yards. Himes dived towards his near post, but Dunbar’s right-footed strike beat him in the 52nd minute. The crowd chanted Dunbar’s name after his second goal of the afternoon restored Atlanta’s lead.

Kovac nearly added another two minutes later. Chong Qui sent a long throw into the box, where Kovac redirected the ball towards goal. He missed narrowly wide.

Henry’s cutback reached Dunbar in the 60th minute, but his shot was blocked out of play. Orlando cleared Pita’s ensuing corner and tried to counterattack through Belgodere. Henry brought him down and received a yellow card. Gómez played the ball forward to Haruna after the restart, but Atlanta blocked his shot. Orlando kept possession and worked the ball to Amoo-Mensah, whose attempt was saved by Ransom.

Silva turned to his bench again in the 71st minute. Gonzalo Riveras replaced Henry, while 16-year-old Academy midfielder Joshua Kwon replaced Pita to make his professional debut.

Suarez-Couri won a challenge near midfield in the 74th minute and carried the ball into Orlando’s half. Atlanta moved forward with a 3-on-3. Suarez-Couri passed to Riveras on the right side of the box. Riveras sent a one-touch ball into the center. Kovac controlled it with his right before driving his shot into the bottom-left corner.

The goal was Kovac’s 17th of the season. It moved him beyond Phillip Goodrum for the most goals in a single Atlanta United 2 season.

Kwon had an opportunity to open his account 91st minute. He took the ball from Caleb Trombino outside Orlando’s penalty area. Kovac was open to his left, but Kwon chose to shoot and sent the ball over.

Suarez-Couri carried the ball from midfield to the edge of Orlando’s penalty area in the 92nd minute. He tried to find Weah running through the defensive line, but Torres intercepted the pass. Torres could not control the ball, and Suarez-Couri poked it back to Weah. Weah rolled it away from his defender before guiding a left-footed shot past Himes for Atlanta’s 4th of the night.

Kovac completed the rout in the 94th minute. Dunbar won a duel outside the penalty area in the 94th minute and slipped the ball through Orlando’s defense. Kovac curved his run onto the pass and met it without taking a touch. He leaned back and lifted his right-footed shot beyond Himes’ outstretched arm. The ball dropped inside the bottom-right corner, giving Kovac his second goal and Atlanta its fifth.

Closing Thoughts

The Five Stripes improved to 12-8-4 and reached 40 points, surpassing last year’s record of 38 points. Five matches remain to reach the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs for the first time.

The five goals also gave Atlanta its highest-scoring season. The club has scored 52 times through 24 matches, with Kovac and Dunbar accounting for half of them.

Kovac’s two goals raised his season total from 16 to 18 and gave him sole possession of Atlanta United 2’s single-season scoring record. The 19-year-old also surpassed 20 goal contributions while strengthening his position as the leading scorer in MLS NEXT Pro.

Dunbar produced his first multi-goal performance of the season and now has eight goals and 10 assists. His three direct goal contributions reflected how much of Atlanta’s attack moved through him. He created chances from the left, found space through the middle and continued working defensively after Atlanta moved ahead.

Jardines recorded his first multi-assist performance and increased his season total to five. Three of those assists have come during Atlanta’s last two matches. The 18-year-old completed 30 of his 32 passes against Orlando and continued to look increasingly comfortable carrying responsibility in Atlanta’s midfield.

Suarez-Couri changed the match after entering at halftime. He contributed to three of Atlanta’s four second-half goals and completed 23 of his 24 passes. Riveras also made an impact from the bench, completing all eight of his passes and collecting his first professional assist.

Kwon’s debut added another Academy milestone to a season filled with them. The 16-year-old became the latest player to move from Atlanta’s Academy into a professional match, entering during the most important portion of the club’s playoff pursuit.

Orlando’s fifth consecutive defeat dropped the Lions to 8-9-7 and kept them at 35 points, one point outside the playoff positions at the start of the weekend.

Atlanta returns to the road Friday, Aug. 28, to face Inter Miami CF II at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.