Orlando City B (1-0-0, 3 points) vs. Huntsville City FC (0-0-1, 2 points)
When: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Osceola County Stadium at Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, Fla.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (subscription required)
Tickets: View seats
Right where he left off
Orlando City forward Jack Lynn found the back of the net for Orlando City B on Sunday afternoon in Chester, heading in a ball from Cristofer Acuña for his first goal of the year. Lynn finished the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro campaign as the Lions’ leading scorer with 15 goals, good for third across the league.
A product of the University of Notre Dame, Lynn was drafted at No. 18 overall at the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.
A debut to remember
Cristofer Acuña started his Orlando City B career with a bang, scoring the game-winner for the Lions against Philadelphia Union II while also earning the assist on the insurance goal to Jack Lynn in the 61st minute. A 19-year-old forward from Uruguay, Acuña joined the Lions this past offseason on loan from Central Español.
Syracuse’s finest
Orlando City defender Abdi Salim opened the scoring for Orlando City B’s 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign inside of 10 minutes of action, getting his head on a corner from Alejandro Granados for his first goal for the Club. Sunday afternoon marked Salim’s OCB debut, having appeared twice thus far for the First Team in Major League Soccer, including a full 90 at the back against FC Cincinnati to help City secure a shutout at home.
Firsts in Purple
Nine players made their Orlando City B debuts on Sunday afternoon, eight of which featured in head coach MartÃn Perelman’s starting lineup.
Along with Acuña and Salim, Franco Pérez, Nabi Kibunguchy, Zakaria Taifi, Juninho, Imanol Almaguer, Jhon SolÃs and Shak Mohammed all made their first appearances for Orlando City B, with Pérez tallying an assist on Acuña’s game-winner.
