Something’s Gotta Give
All three previous meetings between the Lions and Quakes have ended in draws. City has held four leads against San Jose for a combined 29 minutes. 3 of those leads lasted fewer than 5 minutes.
In 2015, 10-man Orlando City split points with San Jose following M Kaká and Chris Wondolowski penalty kick conversions 4 minutes apart. Then on June 18, 2016, City hosted San Jose in the #OrlandoUnited game 6 days after the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub. The match was paused in the 49th minute to honor the 49 victims with a moment of silence. F Júlio Baptista scored in stoppage time before Shea Salinas equalized in the 94th minute. In 2017, Wondolowski equalized 3 minutes after F Carlos Rivas’ go-ahead goal in the 80th minute.
Down in the Bayou & More
- D Scott Sutter played 83 games with Quakes D Francois Affolter at BSC Young Boys (Switzerland) from 2009 to 2013. Affolter was also teammates with former Lion Adrian Winter at FC Luzern (Switzerland).
- F Justin Meram and GK Adam Grinwis were teammates with Quakes M Fatai Alashe’s brother, Latif Alashe, at the U of Michigan from 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2012, respectively.
- M Pierre Da Silva was teammates with Quakes M Eric Calvillo on the U.S. U-17 2015 World Cup team.
- D PC was teammates with Quakes M Luis Felipe at Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) in 2016.
- Lions head coach Jason Kreis spent several of his teen years living in Mandeville, La., on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, where Quakes GK Andrew Tarbell is also from.
One to Remember
F Dom Dwyer’s next goal will be the 100th of his professional career. Dwyer scored 67 goals with Sporting KC across all competitions, 22 with Orlando City in the USL Pro, 8 with City in MLS and 2 with the U.S. national team.
Dwyer is tied with 8 other players for 3rd in MLS with 4 goals, but his 1.48 goals per 90 minutes is the 2nd-highest of any player with at least 4 goals (Bradley Wright-Phillips, 1.65 g/90m). Orlando City is 3-0-0 with Dwyer in the lineup in 2018.
Cash Mueller & More
Rookie F Chris Mueller can become the first Lions rookie to score goals in 3 consecutive games since F Cyle Larin did it twice (May 2015, Sept.-Oct. 2015). Mueller’s 4 shots on goal are T-2nd on the team (Dwyer - 5, Kljestan - 4). The MLS record for most consecutive goals by a rookie is 4, done most recently by Seattle’s Jordan Morris in 2016.
M Sacha Kljestan’s next assist will move him into sole possession of 9th-most regular-season assists in MLS history. Kljestan is currently tied with Andy Williams with 86 assists in his career. M Will Johnson, D Jonathan Spector and D Donny Toia’s next starts will be their 30th each as Lions. GK Joe Bendik’s next appearance will be his 74th in MLS, which will pass his 73 in MLS with Toronto FC. However, Bendik also made 4 Canadian Championship appearances with Toronto.
On a Roll
This is the fourth time Orlando City has won 3+ games in a row and the first time since April 2017. City also won its last 2 games of 2016 before opening 2017 with 2 wins. The Lions rattled off 5 straight from September to October 2015 to keep their playoff hopes alive until the season finale.
For The Pale Blue Dot
In celebration of Earth Day, Orlando City and San Jose will be sporting adidas Parley jerseys, which are made from plastic recycled from the world’s oceans. All 23 teams around the league will wear the jerseys in Week 8.
City was one of four teams, along with NYCFC, LA Galaxy and Seattle, to wear Parley jerseys in 2017; the Lions wore them during their 2-1 win at NYC on April 23.
