1 - Help From Without
Shortly after Orlando City fell to Montreal, sixth-place Columbus lost at San Jose, keeping the Lions within striking distance of Crew SC. City is now two points behind Columbus with a game in
hand and a massive tilt on the horizon when Crew SC comes to Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 19. New York Red Bulls also lost Saturday to third-place NYCFC, keeping City within five points of fourth-place New York and fifth-place Atlanta, who scored another stoppage-time equalizer this weekend.
A win Saturday would push the Lions over the line and pull them within two points of New York.
2 - Milestone Strike
Cyle Larin scored his 40th career MLS goal Saturday in Montreal, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to score 40 goals. The Canadian hit the mark in just his 79th career MLS appearance. The goal was his team-leading ninth of the season. Larin, 22, is now just 10 goals from 50, a feat only two players in MLS history (Landon Donovan, Carlos Ruiz) have accomplished before their 25th birthday.
Larin is also one appearance from passing another milestone: his 80th MLS appearance. Against Montreal, Larin became the first Lion to pass 6,000 minutes played. Kaká is second in team history with 5,416.
3 - Garden State of Mind
Cyle Larin has 10 goals and one assist in seven career games at Red Bull Arena and Yankee Stadium. Larin notched his first career hat-trick at NYCFC on July 26 and had his second two months later at Red Bull Arena. The Canadian has four goals and an as- sist in three games in New Jersey. The Lions are 3-3-0 when Larin scores in The Bronx or Harrison.
4 - Yoshi's World & Powers Up
Orlando City’s newest signing, Yoshimar Yotún, could make his Orlando City debut Saturday in New Jersey. Yotún signed from Swedish giant Malmö FF on Aug. 4 as the fifth Designated Player in Club history (Kaká, Bryan Róchez, Carlos Rivas, Giles Barnes). The attacking left mid elder is a regular for the Peru national team, which he led to third-place finishes in Copa America in 2011 and 2015. Yotún has two goals and seven assists in 64 international appearances.
Acquired via trade on Aug. 10, mid elder Dillon Powers could also make his Orlando City debut. Powers was acquired from Colorado for Luis Gil and $100,000 in TAM.
5 - Matadors
This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams. On April 9, Servando Carrasco scored his first goal as a Lion on Will Johnson’s first assist as a Lion to defeat New York, 1-0. Carrasco was well positioned on a corner kick in the 34th minute. The goal was the second of Carrasco’s MLS career and his first since 2013. Orlando City has a chance to pick up its second win of the season against New York for the first time.
6 - Three Up, Round 2
This is the second triple header for Orlando City SC in as many weeks. Orlando City B kicks off against the Richmond Kickers at 7 p.m. before Orlando City and Orlando Pride begin play at 7:30 p.m. All three Orlando City SC teams will play at the same time again next week for the fourth week in a row the week after that.
7 - Special Olympics Unified
Before Saturday’s match will be a Special Olympics Uni ed match featuring athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. The closed-door match will be divided into two 20-minute halves. Orlando City also participated in Special Olympics Uni ed ahead of its July 21 match against Atlanta United.
