Written By: Elliot Nunez
Orlando, FL- It was a perfect day for Soccer at the Citrus Bowl as the Orlando City Lions hosted D.C. United with a staggering 32,822 in attendance. The Orlando City Lions came out strong early with many promising possessions in early minutes of the game. Kaka had a handful of corners in the first half, one which came in the 18th minute that was headed by midfielder Amobi Okugo but was saved by D.C. United goalie Bill Hamid. Bill Hamid had an incredible outing with 5 great saves on the night, which held them in the game.
Going into the half the Lions subbed in forward Cyle Larin for an injured Pedro Ribeiro. Larin exploded out of the gates with some great shots on goal, one of them coming in the 44th minute that was saved by the agile D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. At the half the score remained tied 0-0.
At the start of the second half, Orlando City continued their momentum with many promising offensive possessions, but they just could not seem to get the ball in the net. D.C. United attempted to take advantage of all the mistakes made by the Lions especially in the 68th minute when Orlando City goalie Donovan Ricketts had to come out of the box which caused defender Brek Shea to come up with an impressive save of his own.
It was in the 90th minute when Luis Silva breaks the tie with an impressive kick just left of the box with a game-winning goal to defeat the Orlando City Lions. After the game I had the opportunity to hear from coach of the Orlando City Lions Adrian Heath, and he had this to say about their performance “ I feel for the player’s, they didn’t deserve to lose this game, I know we’re going to take something positive out of this.” He continued on saying they played well throughout the game but just could not put the ball in the back of the net.
The Orlando City Lions hope to regroup Sunday April 12th as they head to Portland, Oregon where they will take on the Portland Timbers in Providence Park with a 5pm ET scheduled kickoff time.
Going into the half the Lions subbed in forward Cyle Larin for an injured Pedro Ribeiro. Larin exploded out of the gates with some great shots on goal, one of them coming in the 44th minute that was saved by the agile D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. At the half the score remained tied 0-0.
At the start of the second half, Orlando City continued their momentum with many promising offensive possessions, but they just could not seem to get the ball in the net. D.C. United attempted to take advantage of all the mistakes made by the Lions especially in the 68th minute when Orlando City goalie Donovan Ricketts had to come out of the box which caused defender Brek Shea to come up with an impressive save of his own.
It was in the 90th minute when Luis Silva breaks the tie with an impressive kick just left of the box with a game-winning goal to defeat the Orlando City Lions. After the game I had the opportunity to hear from coach of the Orlando City Lions Adrian Heath, and he had this to say about their performance “ I feel for the player’s, they didn’t deserve to lose this game, I know we’re going to take something positive out of this.” He continued on saying they played well throughout the game but just could not put the ball in the back of the net.
The Orlando City Lions hope to regroup Sunday April 12th as they head to Portland, Oregon where they will take on the Portland Timbers in Providence Park with a 5pm ET scheduled kickoff time.