ORLANDO, Fla. (March 18, 2017) ā In its second match of the season, Orlando City SC (2-0-0, 6 points) rode opportunistic attacking and stout defending to defeat the Philadelphia Union (0-1-2, 2 points) 2-1 Saturday in front of another sellout crowd at Orlando City Stadium. Cyle Larin notched a brace and Carlos Rivas earned his third assist of the season and made his 50th career MLS appearance.
āI really thought everyoneās effort was spectacular. I thought it was another really strong performance defensively, really from the entire group,ā Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. āBut from the back four, when you look at each individual player and how many important plays they made, headers they made, tackles they won in the box, being in the right place at the right time Iād say all four of those guys had big, big nights for us. Credit to the guys, they took it on.ā
The Lions got on the board in the 39th minute when Rivas, while fighting off two defenders, drove a low cross to Larin inside the six-yard box. The Canadian slammed home his second goal of the season.
Cityās back line, unchanged from its clean sheet victory over New York City on Opening Day, held strong throughout the match. JosĆ© Aja was physical yet disciplined against Union attackers CJ Sapong and Chris Pontius. He showed continued chemistry with fellow center back Jonathan Spector as they forced Philadelphia into three offsides.
Philadelphia broke through, though, in the 52nd minute when Alejandro Bedoya found CJ Sapong for a header from close range.
Pushed on by the 25,527 purple clad supporters in attendance, the Lions fought to maintain their perfect home record. Rivas showed outstanding drive and hustle, making countless runs onto long balls and dribbling at defenders up both wings. In the 73rd minute, the 22-year-old, making his fourth consecutive start dating to 2016, made a slick backheel pass to MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa. The Argentine immediately freed Larin in behind and the 2016 MLS All-Star fired past Union goalkeeper Andre Blake for his sixth career multi-goal game.
āItās really pleasing to see Cyle get a couple goals,ā Kreis said. āHis partner up there, he deserves a couple as well so I wouldnāt want to say anything about the forwards without saying how important Carlos Rivas was to the performance tonight as well.ā
The Union pressed higher for the equalizer and came within inches late in the match. A Philadelphia shot from outside the box rang off the far post and ricocheted across the face of goal. Seconds later, goalkeeper Joe Bendik came up with a huge save when he leapt through the air and batted Bedoyaās header from point-blank range.
The match saw Orlando City Pro Academy product Pierre da Silva make his MLS debut. Da Silva came on for Rivas in the 89th minute. Da Silva became the first player in Club history to climb from the Pro Academy to Orlando City B, the Clubās United Soccer League (USL) affiliate, to the First Team when he was signed on Jan. 20.
MLS will go on an eight-day hiatus for FIFA International dates from March 20-28. City will face Columbus Crew SC on Saturday, April 1, at 4 p.m. ET in an UniMƔs national TV broadcast. The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Sunday, April 9, when they host the New York Red Bulls.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY. Follow the latest Orlando City news and updates via Facebook, Twitter,Instagram and YouTube.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
First Half
3ā MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa sprints onto a loose ball on the right wing and earns a corner. The Argentine curls an in-swinging ball that goalkeeper Andre Blake catches high in the air.
7ā After Cyle Larin was fouled 35 yards from goal, PĆ©rez GarcĆa drives a dangerous ball to the far post but Philadelphia clears.
9ā Carlos Rivas lifts a gorgeous ball 30 yards across the pitch over the Union back line to Larin in the box. The Canadian takes a touch but canāt flick it over an oncoming Blake.
11ā Jonathan Spector does well to intercept a pass in front of his own box before darting through space to lead the charge. Spector slides a through ball for Rivas but the Colombian canāt catch up to it.
15ā Spector blocks Chris Pontiusā centering pass and Will Johnson does well to collect the ball in the box and prevent a corner kick.
18ā Rivas draws a free kick on the right wing 25 yards from the near post. PĆ©rez GarcĆa floats a ball to Larin but his header is blocked and cleared.
20ā From well inside his own half, JosĆ© Aja bombs the ball up field so high that Oguchi Onyewu canāt head it away from danger, instead directing it backwards and off his own crossbar. Larin and Rivas try to capitalize on the mayhem but the Union clear.
22ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa floats a ball to Antonio Nocerino streaking to the near post. Blake comes out to stop Nocerinoās first-time shot.
35ā Spector fearlessly blocks a shot from CJ Sapong with his face from point-blank range.
39ā Rivas fights off two defenders before rifling a cross to Cyle Larin, who just needed to make contact to slam the ball home from one yard out.
45ā Aja follows Sapong across to the left side of the field to stop him from receiving a throw-in that would have put him in alone.
45 (+1)ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa sprints up the left wing, blocks an attempted clearance, gets up and continues sprinting onto the loose ball.
45 (+3)ā After three minutes of added time, the referee ends the first half. Orlando City 1, Philadelphia Union 0.
Second Half
52ā Philadelphia gets on the board with CJ Sapongās header after Alejandro Bedoya got a touch on it.
60ā Servando Carrasco lifts a clever header for Rivas, who does well to control and get back on his feet before crossing to PĆ©rez GarcĆa and earning a corner.
68ā After several hard runs up the wing, Rivas makes a clever backheel pass while fighting off a defender to find PĆ©rez GarcĆa with space.
69ā Rivas connects with Giles Barnes to earn a corner kick. Will Johnson delivers an in-swinging ball that Blake catches in traffic.
71ā Cristian Higuita enters the match in place of Servando Carrasco.
73ā PĆ©rez GarcĆa slips a ball in behind for Cyle Larin, who races onto it and slots it past Blake for his third goal of the season.
76ā Aja clears the danger from the box and sets up the counter attack. PĆ©rez GarcĆa, Rivas and Larin sprint up the pitch and PĆ©rez GarcĆa passes to Larin, but his shot goes over the bar.
81ā Hadji Barry enters the match in place of PĆ©rez GarcĆa.
89ā After an exceptional performance, Carlos Rivas leaves the match. Pierre Da Silva takes his place, marking his MLS debut.
90 (+3)ā Joe Bendik makes an absolutely spectacular save to preserve the lead. Bendik leaps in the air and swats away Bedoyaās header from point-blank range.
90 (+4)ā After four minutes of added time, the referee ends the match. Orlando City 2, Philadelphia Union 1.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Cyle Larin (Carlos Rivas, Jonathan Spector) 39ā
PHI - CJ Sapong 52ā
ORL - Cyle Larin (MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa) 73ā
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Carlos Rivas (Yellow Card) 25ā
PHI - Oguchi Onyewu (Yellow Card) 28ā
ORL - MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa (Yellow Card) 80ā
PHI - Haris Medunjanin (Yellow Card) 80ā
ORL - Jonathan Spector (Yellow Card) 82ā
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Donny Toia, Jonathan Spector, JosĆ© Aja, āø Will Johnson, M Antonio Nocerino, Servando Carrasco (Cristian Higuita 71ā), Giles Barnes, MatĆas PĆ©rez GarcĆa (Hadji Barry 81ā), F Carlos Rivas (Pierre Da Silva 89ā), Cyle Larin
Substitutes Not Used: GK Josh Saunders, D Tommy Redding, PC, M Richie Laryea
Philadelphia Union - GK Andre Blake, D Fabinho, Richie Marquez, Oguchi Onyewu, Keegan Rosenberry, M Haris Medunjanin, Derrick Jones (Roland Alberg 77ā), āø Alejandro Bedoya, Chris Pontius (Fafa Picault 86ā), Fabian Herbers (Ilsinho 61ā), F CJ Sapong
Substitutes Not Used: GK John McCarthy, D Raymon Gaddis, Jack Elliott, M Warren Creavalle
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: March 18, 2017
Attendance: 25,527
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 51.5 %
PHI - 48.5 %
Shots:
ORL - 10
PHI - 13
Saves:
ORL - 1
PHI - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 13
PHI - 12
Corners:
ORL - 5
PHI - 7