Saturday marked the true return of Daryl Dike following his run at this summer’s Gold Cup. Yes, he did play 45 minutes against Inter Miami, but this weekend was his first start for Orlando City in two months, and the former Virginia Cavalier absolutely delivered.
Dike scored his first MLS goal since June and topped it off with his second assist of 2021. He also added physical dominance that Orlando doesn’t get from anywhere else. He won just about every one of his duels, was completely dominant in the air, and simply overmatched the Columbus back line.