Martín Ojeda Hat Trick Powers Orlando City's Stunning 4-3 Comeback Win at Inter Miami

When Lionel Messi put a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom left corner in the 33rd minute, Nu Stadium was already in party mode. Inter Miami led 3-0, Orlando City looked cooked, and the only question seemed to be how many. Then Martín Ojeda took the script, tore it in half and wrote a new ending.

Orlando City SC beat Inter Miami CF 4-3 on Saturday night, rallying from three goals down behind an Ojeda hat trick and a stoppage-time winner from substitute Tyrese Spicer. According to Orlando City, the Lions became just the fourth team in MLS history, and the first since 2018, to win a match after being down three goals. The AP noted the result ended Miami's 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions.

Miami's 33-Minute Blitz

For half an hour, this looked like a mismatch. Ian Fray opened the scoring in the 4th minute, finishing into the top right corner after a Telasco Segovia cross off a corner. Then Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau survived a barrage in the 20th minute, making four saves in the same minute on Messi, Luis Suárez twice and Rodrigo De Paul, before play was held up for an injury to Crépeau.

The second goal arrived in the 25th minute. Messi set up Segovia on a fast break for a finish from very close range. Eight minutes later, Suárez teed up Messi for that strike from outside the box, and Miami had three. Crépeau kept saying no, stopping Segovia, De Paul and Germán Berterame between the 35th and 37th minutes, but it felt like damage control.

The Turning Point: Ojeda's Spark

Then, in the 39th minute, Orlando struck on the counter. Justin Ellis found Ojeda outside the box, and Orlando said the Argentine dribbled past three defenders before ripping a left-footed shot into the bottom left corner. It was only 3-1, but it changed the mood. Interim head coach Martín Perelman sent on Spicer and Eduard Atuesta at halftime, and the Lions came out with a different energy.

Miami still had chances. Segovia blazed over in the 51st minute after Messi set him up on another fast break, and Berterame headed just wide in the 54th. But in the 68th minute, Adrián Marín, who Orlando said drove into the box before squaring it, found Ojeda, and his left-footed finish went into the bottom right corner. 3-2.

Dayne St. Clair kept Miami in front a little longer, denying Ojeda in the 73rd minute and Duncan McGuire two minutes later. In the 77th, Maximiliano Falcón was penalized for a foul on Iago Teodoro in the box. Messi was booked in the 78th minute, and Ojeda buried the penalty into the top left corner. Hat trick, and 3-3.

Spicer Finishes the Job

The madness was not done. St. Clair stopped Ojeda again in the 81st minute, in a sequence the AP said ended with the keeper blocking the shot with his face, and Spicer fired over moments later. Atuesta forced another save in the 85th.

With eight minutes of stoppage time announced, Orlando found the winner in the 93rd minute. Braian Ojeda slipped a through ball to Spicer on the break, and the substitute slotted a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner. Messi had one final chance, a free kick that went just over in the 96th minute, and the AP said Miami spent the closing stages arguing over calls they felt were missed. Didn't matter. Orlando City 4, Inter Miami 3.

Star Watch

Ojeda was spectacular: seven shots, five on target, three goals. Orlando said they were his fifth, sixth and seventh goals across all competitions in 2026, bringing him to 40 all-time for the club. Perelman noted the workload too. "Martín played 90 minutes 72 hours ago. He doesn't want to leave the field, even for one second," he said, per MLS.

Spicer, the 2024 MLS SuperDraft No. 1 overall pick according to MLS, delivered the dagger off the bench, and Braian Ojeda's through ball was his first MLS assist for Orlando City, per the club. Crépeau's seven saves deserve a mention, because without them the comeback never gets a chance to happen.

For Miami, Messi had a goal and an assist in ESPN's match data (the AP and MLS credited him with two assists), and the AP said it came in his 100th appearance for the club. Suárez finished with six shots and an assist.

In Their Own Words

"The way we came out in the first half, it wasn't us," Ojeda said after the game, per MLS. "Very proud to win a clásico away and very proud of this group."

Perelman kept it simple. "The effort of the players is what we should be highlighting now because they are doing a huge effort," he said.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Miami 26, Orlando 13.
• Shots on target: Miami 10, Orlando 9.
• Saves: Crépeau 7, St. Clair 5.
• Possession: Miami 64 percent, Orlando 36 percent.
• Corners: Miami 10, Orlando 2.

What It Means

Orlando improves to 3-1-7 with 10 points. Per the AP, the Lions had not won a road match in MLS play this season, with four losses and a draw, and had won only two of their last 15 MLS matches, playoffs included, dating to last season. That is the context that makes this result so wild. They close a four-game road trip at CF Montréal next Saturday.

Miami drops to 5-4-2 with 19 points. The AP noted the club had been unbeaten in nine straight MLS matches, and MLS pointed out the Herons are now winless in four games at their new stadium. It also flips the script from March 1, when Miami won 4-2 in Orlando. The AP said Miami has four matches left before the World Cup stoppage, against Toronto, Cincinnati, Portland and Philadelphia.

Closing Take

Orlando is a city built on roller coasters, and its soccer team just rode the wildest one in Florida. Down three to a lineup featuring Messi, Suárez and De Paul, the Lions could have folded and nobody would have blamed them. Instead they found a hat-trick hero, a super-sub and a goalkeeper who refused to quit. Derby bragging rights rarely come with a plot twist this good.

Stats from ESPN's match data and the AP recap via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by MLS (mlssoccer.com) and Orlando City SC (orlandocitysc.com).