Orlando City SC Communications
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ORLANDO, Fla. (June 28, 2018) – Orlando City SC (6-9-1, 19 points) begins a two-game road trip at Atlanta United FC (10-3-4, 34 points) on Saturday, June 30. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The match will be nationally televised on ESPN and transmitted in English on Real Radio 104.1 FM and in Spanish on La Nueva 990 AM.
“I see it as a huge challenge and a great opportunity to go up there in front of a hostile crowd, a place where we did well last year in that stadium,” Lions interim head coach Bobby Murphy said. “It’s just going to take a complete performance. So often we’ve been so close and it’s going to take everybody playing their best and playing for the group and getting a break here or there. It can all turn around. That’s what we’re working toward.”
Orlando City enters the match off a 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact on Saturday. The match was City’s first at Orlando City Stadium in nearly a month and came three days after the Lions advanced to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on penalty kicks. Dom Dwyer leads the Lions with seven goals, while Yoshimar Yotún, who has been with the Peru national team at the FIFA World Cup, leads the team with five assists. Josué Colmán, Chris Mueller and Sacha Kljestan each have four assists in MLS this season. In its last match, Atlanta tied Portland 1-1 on Sunday. Larrys Mabiala opened the scoring for Portland in the 32nd minute before Julian Gressel equalized in the 56th. Atlanta midfielder Darlington Nagbe suffered an injury in the second half and will miss Saturday’s match. Josef Martínez leads MLS with 14 goals while Miguel Almirón leads the team with seven assists. Atlanta currently leads the Supporters’ Shield race with 34 points from 17 matches. This will be City’s second ever visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. On Sept. 16, 2017, a then-MLS record crowd of 70,425 watched the Lions and Five Stripes play to a thrilling 3-3 draw. Dwyer scored his first two MLS goals as a Lion and added an assist, but Martinez responded with a hat-trick. |
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About Orlando City SC:
Orlando City SC joined Major League Soccer (MLS) as the league’s 21st franchise in November 2013, becoming the first MLS team in the Southeast. The Lions began league play in March 2015 and moved into their privately-financed downtown soccer venue in March 2017, becoming the first team in MLS history to open a stadium with five consecutive victories. With a season-ticket base in the 20,000 range, the 25,500-seated Orlando City Stadium experienced sellout crowds nearly its entire first year of inception.
In November 2015, the Club announced its intention to bring professional women’s soccer to Central Florida and launched Orlando Pride in National Women’s Soccer League. The Pride began league play in April 2016 with a star-studded team of FIFA World Cup Champions. For more information, visit orlandocitysc.com or orlando-pride.com. |
