ORLANDO, Fla. (August 17, 2017) - Orlando City (8-10-6, 30 points) returns home for the first time in nearly a month when it hosts Columbus Crew SC (11-12-2, 35 points) on Saturday, Aug. 19. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
The match will be locally televised on WRDQ TV27 and transmitted in English on Real Radio 104.1 FM and in Spanish on La Nueva 990 AM. The pregame, halftime and postgame shows will be streamed on the LionNation app and Facebook Live.
“We still have that ability to win games,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “You saw the way we played the first 45 minutes against the Red Bulls and so you see it. I believe in the that players we have. I believe in them for a reason - because I’ve seen them perform.”
This is the second meeting of the season between these teams. On April 1, Justin Meram’s brace led Columbus to a 2-0 victory over Orlando City at MAPFRE Stadium. The two teams will meet again in Orlando City’s regular season home finale on Sunday, Oct. 15.
City is coming off a 3-1 loss at New York. The Lions got on the board first when Carlos Rivas finished his fifth goal of the season on Kaká’s fifth assist of the campaign. But an own goal and second-half goals from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sean Davis handed City its second loss of the three-game road trip.
Kaká and Rivas are tied for the team lead with five assists each, while Cyle Larin leads the Lions with nine goals. Goalkeeper Joe Bendik’s 85 saves are the most in the league and he is one save away from his 200th as a Lion. City will be without Kaká for Saturday following his straight red card shown in New York. Donny Toia’s next appearance will be his 100th in MLS, including playoffs.
Columbus picked up a huge win over Chicago on Saturday to climb into fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Kekuta Manneh equalized for Crew SC in the 18th minute before Meram scored the game-winner in the 73rd. Ola Kamara made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.
Kamara leads Crew SC and is tied for fifth in the league with 12 goals, while Meram has ten goals and a team-high seven assists.
“Obviously it’s a world, not just an MLS thing, worldwide there’s a lot of teams that are moving to three backs,” Kreis added about Columbus’ formation. “It gives some real width. There’s always going to be some guys that are very wide. It can open up the field. For me it’s about numbers and how many numbers you want in your attacking phases and how many you want in your defensive phases.”
The match holds significant playoff implications for both teams. Orlando City enters in eighth place, five points behind both sixth-place Atlanta and Columbus. It is the first of two straight home games for the Lions. Five of City’s final 10 games are at Orlando CIty Stadium.
The match is also part of the third consecutive tripleheader Saturday for Orlando City SC. Orlando Pride visits the Boston Breakers at 4 p.m. ET, followed by Orlando City B’s trip to the Charlotte Independence at 7 p.m. ET.
Orlando City hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET before embarking on a four-game road trip that will see the Lions visit New England, D.C., Atlanta and Portland
