Last Go Around
The Lions last faced off against the Red Bulls on Wednesday, July 27 in a historic night at Exploria Stadium, defeating the New Jersey-based side 5-1 in the Semifinal round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. A brace from César Araújo along with finishes from Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres and Benji Michel led the Lions to a berth in their first U.S. Open Cup Final in Club history.
A Moutinho Milestone
João Moutinho is set to make his 75th appearance across all competitions for the Lions in his next outing, having been with the Club since the 2019 campaign after being acquired via trade from LAFC. Since coming to Orlando, Moutinho has found the back of the net three times, with seven assists to add.
50 for Benji
Homegrown forward Benji Michel notched his 50th start as a Lion in all competitions this past Saturday night, going 76 minutes for Oscar Pareja’s side. Michel became the first Homegrown signing in Club history earlier this season to reach 100 appearances, now with 106 in purple, with 18 goals and nine assists to add.
The No. 10
Mauricio Pereyra is on the verge of Club history yet again, his next regular-season assist set to make him the first player in Orlando City history to post double-digit assist seasons in MLS and two assists away from setting the new single-season record for helpers in an MLS season. Pereyra’s 2021 campaign currently holds the record with three others (Kaká 2016, Yoshimar Yotún 2018, Nani 2019) at 10.
Hey Now, You’re an All-Star
Two Orlando City Academy products in Alejandro Granados and Favian Loyola featured at the inaugural MLS NEXT All-Star Game, presented by Allstate, on Wednesday, Aug. 10 in Blaine, Minn., the morning of the MLS All-Star Game. The latter earned the start for the East on the afternoon, while the former entered the game at the halftime break.
Milestone Tracker
- Pedro Gallese’s next clean sheet will set a new Orlando City career high as his eighth clean sheet of the season.
- Kyle Smith is two appearances away from 100 in all competitions for Orlando City.
- Ercan Kara is three regular-season goals away from reaching double digits for the season.
- Ercan Kara’s next appearance will be his 25th across all competitions.
