Photographer: Raul Sosa
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Written by: Raul Sosa Orlando City SC was defeated in the Orlando Citrus Bowl for the first time in 5 consecutive games. The Purple Lions suffered the absence of 4 starters, (Ricardo Kaká, Darwin Cerén, Brek Shea, Cyle Larin) since the team had a worrying lack of shots on target from start to finish. FC Dallas showed up fully determined to stop Orlando’s home winning streak from the very 1st minute of the game. They came all the way from Texas with one thing in mind: having the entire control of the game despite their visitor condition. With Orlando City SC having a lot of trouble controlling the ball and retaining possession, FC Dallas felt confortable in the field little by little. Their attack was shy at first, but Orlando’s lacking attack and creativity gave Dallas the incentive to search their 1st goal of the night. It was on a lost ball by Orlando City in the middle corridor when FC Dallas created a counter attack at full speed. Fabian Castillo stepped inside the penalty box and Cristian Higuita conceded a penalty after taking him down. High hopes were placed on Tally Hall of blocking the penalty, but Mauro Díaz converted the 0-1 at 45’+1 of the first half. Being down in the score, the 30,513 Orlando loyal fans pushed their team to search the equalizer since the 1st minute of the second half. Despite their chants and their unstoppable support, the Purple Lions showed up very weak in every sense and had a night to forget. Orlando City SC created very few good scoring chances; in fact, their most dangerous play in the entire match was a goal from Pedro Ribeiro that ended up in a very doubtful offside. Orlando had 0 shots on target in the entire game. The crowd was furious with the 4 referees, but actually they were only frustrated with the poor performance of their players. Since Orlando City had no reactions on scoring the equalizer, FC Dallas opted on attacking again in order to ensure their partial victory. It was in an amazing first-touch play in the left wing from 3 FC Dallas players, which found their way inside the box due to a tired Orlando City's defensive line. It was a simple pass to the net that ended up in the second goal of the night for FC Dallas. The crowd was shocked and that late 2nd goal finished with all hopes of having a positive score at the end of the night. At the 87th minute, Orlando City received a penalty kick that gave everybody a little bit of hope. Carlos Rivas seemed determined on discounting the score onto a 1-2, but misfortune was witnessed at the Citrus Bowl, as Rivas sent the ball all the way to the parking lot… It was a tough night for Orlando City SC fans, coaches and players. Head Coach Adrian heath said: “I think it was the worst game in the entire year…”. Now they have to reactivate their spirit at face their next home game against the mighty New York Red Bulls at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. Orlando City Increases Season Ticket Capacity to 18,000; Begins Season Ticket Renewal for 20167/15/2015 Orlando City Communications ORLANDO – July 15, 2015 – Following the recent announcement that the Club’s new downtown stadium will feature capacity between 25,000 and 28,000 seats, Orlando City SC today unveiled that it will increase Season Ticket seating for the 2016 Major League Soccer season to 18,000. The 2016 Season Ticket renewal process is currently underway, and season tickets are expected to go on sale to the general public later this summer. More information will be released in the coming weeks. The Club sold out its entire 14,000 season ticket inventory for the inaugural season, launching a waitlist in May for fans to place a deposit toward the 2016 season. That waitlist currently stands at over 2,000 fans eager to secure their place next year to cheer on the Lions at home. “We continue to be humbled by the massive support from our fans here in Central Florida,” said Orlando City Founder and President Phil Rawlins. “We achieved our goal of 14,000 season tickets this year, and registered over 2,000 people for our waitlist for 2016. With the new cap of 18,000, we anticipate the strong fan demand will allow us to quickly sell those out as well as we work to create the most exciting home environment each and every match.” Current Orlando City Season Ticket Members should have received renewal information via email and can expect to receive information via mail in the coming days. Those interested in adding seats to their current accounts should contact their personal account representatives. Preferred pricing for renewals ends on August 14th. A full FAQ can be found here. Orlando City’s next match will take place on Wednesday, July 15, when the Lions host English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion for an international friendly. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the match is included in the 2015 season ticket package. Orlando will return to league play on Saturday, July 18, for an Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Red Bulls. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. To purchase group or individual tickets, or to sign up for the 2016 Season Ticket waitlist, visit www.OrlandoCitySC.com or call 855-ORL-CITY. Follow the latest Orlando City news and updates via Facebook, Twitter, Instagramand YouTube. About Orlando City Soccer Club:
One of the leading teams in Major League Soccer (MLS), and the only MLS team in Florida, Orlando City Soccer Club has developed a rich history and passionate following in its short existence since starting in the USL in 2011. The Lions’ first team set the U.S. record for best start of any professional soccer club in its first 100 USL matches (66-12-22). During that time, the Lions won three regular season titles and two postseason championships.
In MLS, the team draws an average of over 34,005 fans per home game – including 62,500 for its home opener – a record for an expansion team in its first ten stand-alone home games. In addition, the team is currently near the top of the league in social media followers. Orlando City has not only captured the passion of soccer fans in the City Beautiful, it continues to build its brand overseas as its matches are broadcast in 100 countries and in 30 languages.
Outside of the first squad, OCSC also has a youth club, Orlando City Youth Soccer (OCYS) and a U-23 team that participates in the PDL. Lastly, the Orlando City Foundation is active in the community year round, promoting health and wellness in children throughout the region, and raising funds for and volunteering time for various local organizations. Orlando City Communications SANDY, UT – July 4, 2015 – Orlando City SC (6-6-6, 24 points) played the entire second half with 10 men following a controversial call on Saturday night, withstanding a mounting attack from Real Salt Lake (5-6-8, 23 points) to secure a key point and strengthen their position in the Eastern Conference. Before a record crowd of 20,956 at Rio Tinto Stadium, the Lions opened the spirited match with their typical attacking style of play, creating scoring opportunities right from the opening whistle. Despite both teams missing key players due to international duty, the match had its share of action. Orlando opened the scoreline with a brilliant build-up of play between Pedro Ribeiro and Eric Avila, resulting in a well-timed pass to Kaká who slipped by the Salt Lake defensive line and lofted a shot over diving goalkeeper Jeff Attinella in the 5th minute. The home side would respond 23 minutes later when Sebastian Jaime headed a cross from Tony Beltran to even the match at 1-1. The fixture - the first meeting between both clubs - would get heated at times, with 28 fouls between the two teams, including a controversial red card for team captain Kaká in the 45th minute. Despite playing a man down, the Lions defended well and capitalized on a few attacking opportunities to create problems for Salt Lake. In the end, City managed to leave Rio Tinto Stadium with a hard fought point. “I thought it was a magnificent effort from the players after the send off,” said head coach Adrian Heath. “Ironically, we’ve had the best chances of the game in the second half. St. Ledger had a great chance but he put too much power on it. It was a great second half for the odds. We looked very disciplined, and with a good shape. I could not be prouder with the efforts.” Written by Adrian Beecher Orlando, FL- Kaká and Carlos Rivas each scored a goal in the first half against Columbus Crew to send Orlando City to the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup with a 2-0 win. The attendance of the match was 13,684, which is the second largest attendance in the US Open Cup match this year. In a match with more than enough bookings, the first yellow was issued to Christian Higuita for Orlando City in the 12th minute. Only 2 minutes later Sebastian Hines was issued Orlando City’s second yellow of the match. Shortly after, the Lions opened up the scoring in the 21st minute as Kaká was able to put a shot into the back of the net off an assist from Darwin Ceren. This gave Orlando City and early 1-0 lead and sparked the crowd’s excitement. In the 24th minute Columbus Crew’s frustration started to show, as Kevan George picked up the first yellow of the game for Columbus. Orlando City continued to put tremendous pressure on the Crew keeper Brad Stuver. In all in the 1st half, Orlando City were able get 5 shots off. In the 35th minute, Columbus was able to deflect the ball away from Ribeiro, but off the deflection Carlos Rivas sniped in a shot from 22 yards away to make it 2-0 Orlando City. Crew would find themselves in trouble with the officials for another booking in the 39th minute, as Aaron Schoenfeld was given a yellow card, the 4th one of the match up to this point. At the half, both teams had tallied 9 fouls each. The second half saw continuous pressure from Orlando City on Columbus, but they were unable to add to their score. That wasn’t a problem for the Lions however as Tally Hall was able to keep a clean sheet despite 13 total shots on the night from Columbus. Kaká continued to build off his string first half and finished the match with 4 shots to lead the Lions. In all Orlando City took 11 shots and put 6 of them on target, despite having 3 of their shots blocked. “My confidence is increasing. Now I know where I can play. I’ve found my place on the field. The team now has created an identity and now I can play more on the position I like the most. This is giving me more opportunities during the game to be more effective and I feel happy every time I score and help the team.” said Kaká post game. Orlando City was again able to control majority possession over the course of the match, this kept Columbus from having a chance to claw their way back in this one. Orlando City’s next match will be in MLS play against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday July 4th with a 10 pm ET kickoff. The Lions next match in the US Open Cup will be played against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park. With a win, Orlando City would advance to the semifinals for the first time in franchise history. The match will be played on July 21st or 22nd. |
Orlando City Lions - MLS
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