Massive playoff implications on the line Saturday
ORLANDO, Fla.– Orlando City SC (7-9-13, 34 points) continues a travel-heavy month of September when it heads to D.C. United (7-9-13, 34 points) on Saturday, Sept. 24, for the first stop of a two-game road trip. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at RFK Memorial Stadium.
The match will be televised on WRDQ TV 27 and transmitted on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Grande 1030 AM in Spanish. Fans are encouraged to attend the Watch Party at our official City Pub, Wall St. Plaza, and enjoy drink specials and giveaways.
“D.C. is an extremely hard-working team, a team that’s very much together and fighting for each other and doing everything they can to scrape and scratch and claw themselves into the playoffs,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “We’ve seen over the last two matches that there’s been no give-up in them and so we need to recognize that we’re going to have to give everything we can to match their effort. We’ll go there with the intention to get all three points.”
The first meeting of the season between these teams holds important playoff implications. Orlando City and D.C. United are tied at 34 points, just two behind sixth-place New England, with five games remaining. Both teams hold a game in hand on the Revs.
In their three meetings last season, D.C. came away with victories in two closely contested matches but the Lions earned a 1-0 win on June 14 over then-first place United. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid initially stopped Kaká’s penalty kick but the Brazilian calmly headed home the rebound in the 30th minute. Goalkeeper Tally Hall made four saves to earn a clean sheet and extend the Lions’ unbeaten run to five games.
Striker Cyle Larin, who was named the top player in MLS’s 24 Under 24 presented by EA SPORTS this week, leads the Lions with 14 goals while Kaká leads the Lions with eight assists and is third on the team with eight goals. Midfielder Kevin Molino is second on the team with 10 goals and seven assists and goalkeeper Joe Bendik leads the Eastern Conference with 102 saves.
D.C. is coming off a three-game road trip that saw the Black-and-Red collect two draws with stoppage time equalizers. Most recently, Bobby Boswell secured a point with his header in the 92nd minute after D.C. hit the crossbar and Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson made an incredible save on the rebound.
Lamar Neagle leads D.C. with six goals this season. Forward Luciano Acosta leads the team with nine assists. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid has 52 saves on the year.
The Lions face a short turnaround as they head to Canada to face Toronto FC on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET before coming home to host the Montreal Impact on Sunday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
About Orlando City SC:
After winning three USL-Pro Championships over a four-year span, Orlando City SC quickly set the standard for professional soccer clubs, both on and off the field, and was awarded the 21st franchise in Major League Soccer (MLS) on Nov. 19, 2013. The Club began MLS play in Central Florida in 2015, setting league attendance records for an expansion side in its first season and has welcomed over 60,000 fans for consecutive season-opening matches in 2015 and 2016. The Lions, who currently hold the second highest average attendance in the league, will begin play in a privately funded, state-of-the-art downtown stadium in the 2017 MLS season.
Orlando City SC also operates Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Orlando City B of the United Soccer League (USL), which both began play in 2016. For more information visit www.orlandocitysc.com, www.orlandopride.com or www.orlandocityb.com.
