ORLANDO, Fla. (April 15, 2016) – Orlando City (2-1-2, 8 points) will play the first of three matches against the New England Revolution (1-1-4, 7 points) on Sunday, April 17 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm.
The match will be nationally televised on ESPN, and will be transmitted locally on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Grande 1030 AM in Spanish.
“They play very similar to ourselves – they’ve got a lot of talent in the forward areas, they have a bit of everything, they’ve got a bit of pace, a bit of size and athleticism,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “It’s going to be a difficult game for us, but as I’ve said before, I’m more than confident when we play at home that we can get a result against anybody.”
Coming off its first defeat of the season, Orlando City returns home aiming to recover its positive momentum catapulted by its passionate supporters – who have lifted the Lions to remain undefeated at the Orlando Citrus Bowl since July of last year. In its previous contest, Adrian Winter equalized his second goal of the season before Philadelphia’s Tranquillo Barnetta scored on a free kick in the 89th minute.
Placed fourth in the Eastern Conference table with one less point than City with a game in hand, New England travels South after drawing its fourth match of the season, a league-high. New England tied Toronto FC 1-1 in their last fixture on April 9. Kelyn Rowe scored in the 14th minute before Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco leveled it in the 58th minute.
Winless on their three away matches this season, the Revolution head to Orlando looking for their first road victory since October 25, 2015. New England has earned one victory in their last seven visits, losing four of them.
These teams played twice in 2015. First came a 2-2 draw on May 8, when Orlando City came from behind riding goals from Cyle Larin and Aurélien Collin in the final 15 minutes. The Revolution earned a 3-0 victory at Gillette Stadium on September 5.
Orlando City could possibly see the return of several key players. Second-year striker Cyle Larin, who missed the Philadelphia game after suffering a hamstring injury in the April 3 win over Portland, is expected to be available for selection, as are left back Brek Shea, center back Tommy Redding and midfielder Cristian Higuita.
Larin leads Orlando City with three goals, while captain Kaká and Kevin Molino lead the team with two assists. Diego Fagundez leads the Revolution with two goals and two assists.
