MELBOURNE, Fla. (July 1, 2016) – Coming off Sunday’s 3-1 win at FC Montreal, Orlando City B (6-6-3, 21 points) returns to Titan Soccer Complex to host the Charlotte Independence (7-4-3, 24 points) on Sunday, July 2. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. E.T. The match will be streamed live at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/LIVE.
“I think the challenge now for our younger players is trying to maintain a level of consistency. We set ourselves a good standard over the past few weeks with performances and results and it’s important now that we learn from what’s gotten us there,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “Obviously we still have a lot of room to improve on but it’s an interesting [game] because we only played Charlotte four weeks ago so we know them pretty well, they’ll know us pretty well. It will be a tough game because they’ve got some good players. They’ve got a good identity, a good way of playing and it will be a tough game."
This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams. On May 2, the Lions stormed back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to earn their fourth win of the season and their second consecutive victory. The win also ended Charlotte’s six-game unbeaten run.
In its last match, OCB continued its hot play by defeating Montreal 3-1 at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard, riding goals from Hadji Barry and Johnny Mendoza. The Lions were the beneficiaries of a Montreal own goal heading into halftime, but Tony Rocha found Mendoza to ice the match during stoppage time for his first goal of the season. Mark Ridgers made four saves to extend his 2016 total to 49 - the most in the United Soccer League (USL).
Michael Cox leads the team with five goals, while Barry, a 2016 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick, has four goals and two assists in just 537 minutes. Tyler Turner leads all defenders with three goals and an assist.
Charlotte is coming off a 3-1 win at the Harrisburg City Islanders on Friday, June 24. The Independence was trailing going into the second half before a trio of goals from Enzo Martinez, David Estrada and Lewis Hilton earned a comfortable victory. Goalkeeper John Berner made five saves.
Martinez and and Jorge Herrera lead the Independence with four goals and two assists each, while Caleb Calvert also has four goals. Goalkeeper Cody Mizell leads the team with 32 saves in nine games.
Orlando City B goes on the road for their next two matches. First, the Lions visit the Rochester Rhinos on Sunday, July 10, before travelling to Charleston to face the Battery on Wednesday, July 13. OCB returns to Titan Soccer Complex on Sunday, July 24, to host the Wilmington Hammerheads. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets for all OCB home matches can be purchased at OrlandoCitySC.com/OCB or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
