Story by: Trevon Purdie
The Orlando City Soccer Club faced the Montreal Impact Reserves saturday night at ESPN’s Wide World Of Sports Arena. City looks to extend its unbeaten streak to 13 games, one shy of tying the regular season club record of 14 games without a loss.
Orlando City were missing three key players due to each player being called up by their respective national teams. Kevin Molino, Darwin Ceren, and Tommy Redding would not play.
The shorthanded Lions played great against the Impact Reserves. On an assist from Forward Corey Hertzog, Forward Brian Span would score City’s first goal of the night and his second since his debut for OCSC. Span is a loanee from FC Dallas.
The Lions would encounter trouble when Midfielder Yordany Alvarez went down on an attempted header in the 25th minute of play. Alvarez laid motionless on the field before walking off on his own power. He would be taken to the hospital for testing and would not return to the game.
In the second half of play, Orlando City would continue their dominance of possessions. It wouldn’t be long before Span scored his second goal of the game. He would shake two defenders before striking the ball off an Impact defender and into the net for a City 2-0 lead.
At the 75th minute mark, Montreal would score on a strike from Midfielder Maxim Tissot into the right side of the net to give Montreal a chance for a comeback.Orlando City would control the rest of the game, keeping Montreal away from the ball to keep their undefeated streak alive.
Orlando City will face the Orange County Blues at home on Wednesday, June 11. Kickoff is at 7:30pm