MARIETTA, Ga. (Aug. 22, 2026) - Atlanta United 2 earned a 5-1 victory over Orlando City B on Saturday at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta. Arif Kovac scored his record-breaking 17th and 18th goals this season, Cameron Dunbar tallied three goal contributions and Gonzalo Riveras provided his first professional assist as ATL UTD 2 reached a team-record 40 points in the win.
For the first 45 minutes of the first half, Atlanta was dominant, controlling possession and preventing Orlando from registering a shot on target. Two open headers from Kovac, one that sailed over the bar in the 20th minute and one that was saved by Orlando goalkeeper Tristan Himes in the 42nd, remained the two best opportunities of the match prior to stoppage time.
In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Atlanta found the breakthrough goal. Andrew Jardines picked up a loose ball and did a give-and-go with Santiago Pita, passing it to him quickly and making a run into the box as Pita lofted a return pass. With the ball on the right side of the box, Jardines sent a cut-back pass centrally toward Dunbar, who struck the ball with his right foot and found the back of the net at the near post to give Atlanta the lead.
In the seventh of eight added minutes to close out the first half, Orlando equalized. The attack began from a corner, where the ball was whipped in and not properly cleared before falling to Pedro Leão on the left. With a long ball across, Leão switched play out to Justin Hylton on the right, who cut into the box. Hylton’s attempted dribble past D.D. Sibrian was loose, but a deflection saw the ball spill to Issah Haruna standing adjacent to the left. Haruna struck the ball first time toward the bottom-left corner of the goal, but another small deflection off Dominik Chong Qui wrong-footed Jonathan Ransom, denying him a save opportunity as the ball trickled into the net to level the match at one.
In the 52nd minute, Dunbar bagged a brace to re-establish the Atlanta lead. With the ball in the middle of the attacking third, Jardines found Dunbar just ahead. After just one step to set himself, Dunbar fired from 25 yards out on his right foot and blasted the ball past the diving Himes at the near post.
Kovac doubled the Atlanta lead with his record-setting 17th goal in the 74th minute. Ignacio Suarez-Couri, winning a duel at the midfield stripe, started a three-versus-three break toward goal alongside Riveras and Kovac. Carrying the ball forward, Suarez-Couri found Riveras on the right side of the box. Without needing a touch to settle, Riveras hit a first-time pass to Kovac in the center, who was left in space. After stopping the momentum of the ball with a touch on his right foot, Kovac wound up and used the same right foot to arrow the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, giving him the most goals in a single season in team history.
In the 92nd minute, Atlanta added another. Suarez-Couri, carrying the ball from the midfield stripe to just outside of the box like the previous goal, attempted a pass to Patrick Weah, who was breaking through the Orlando defensive line. His initial pass was cut out by Nicolas Torres, but a loose touch allowed Suarez-Couri to tap the ball to Weah again. With a ball roll to evade his marker, Weah took a shot with his left foot and guided the ball past Himes and into the net to make it 4-1.
In the penultimate minute of stoppage time, Atlanta secured a fifth. Dunbar, winning a duel for the ball just outside of the box, played a through pass ahead to Kovac. Taking a curved run on to the pass, Kovac leaned back and struck the ball first time with his right foot, arcing it past the outstretched hand of Himes and into the bottom-right corner of the net, sealing the three points emphatically.
Atlanta United 2 (12-8-4, 40 points) returns to action Friday, Aug. 28, when it travels to Fort Lauderdale to take on Inter Miami CF II at Inter Miami CF Stadium (7 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com, OneFootball App, Soccer Down Here).
