ORLANDO, Fla. (September 27, 2017) – In the first match of a three-game homestand, Orlando City SC (10-13-8, 38 points) defeated the New England Revolution (11-15-5, 38 points) 6-1 on Wednesday at Orlando City Stadium. Antonio Nocerino and Yoshimar Yotún scored their first goals for City and Seb Hines scored his first of the season. Kaká earned a brace, while Yotún and Dom Dwyer each finished with a goal and two assists to earn City its largest margin of victory and its highest scoring match since joining MLS.
“It’s great. It’s really, really good that we see more guys scoring,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “I think the number of players that have committed to our attacking moves has been better for a while now. I feel like we’ve gotten the right numbers involved and have been unfortunate in some of the games not to score more. So it’s good that on a night like tonight we reap some rewards from that and I think the guys all feel great. The guys that scored all feel like a little bit of a weight is off their shoulders as well.”
City came out and dominated the pace of play from the beginning, and after Video Review saw New England’s Xavier Kouassi get sent off in the 11th minute, the Lions opened the floodgates for their first three-goal first half of their MLS era.
The Lions pressured and broke through when Nocerino tapped in Yotún’s free kick delivery. Ten minutes later, Hines smashed a header off Yotún’s corner delivery into the back of the net for his first goal in his third MLS appearance of 2017. Kaká, with the captain’s armband, made it 3-0 with a gorgeous strike into the top corner from the edge of the area in the 43rd minute.
Lee Nguyen scored off a free kick in first-half stoppage time.
Kaká scored his sixth goal of the season following a mad scramble in front of goal. Kaká and Dwyer played a nice combination through the box, but after both of Dwyer’s attempts were blocked Kaká smashed it into the roof of the net.
Kaká earned a standing ovation as he exited the match for Cyle Larin in the 80th minute, and the Canadian brought the crowd to its feet again just four minutes later. Larin found Dwyer for his first goal at Orlando City Stadium as the two combined for a goal for the third time in four games. Dwyer now has three goals and four assists in his last four games.
As fans chanted “We want six! We want six!” Richie Laryea found Yotún and the Peruvian made no mistake as his blistering strike made it 6-1. The assist was Laryea’s first of his MLS career.
Joe Bendik made four saves to earn his 10th win of the season, an MLS career-high. Bendik has played every MLS minute for City since the beginning of 2016.
Orlando City now stands in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, five points behind sixth-place New York.
The Lions face another quick turnaround when they host FC Dallas on Saturday, Sept. 30. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Antonio Nocerino (Yoshimar Yotún) 22’
ORL - Seb Hines (Yoshimar Yotún) 32’
ORL - Kaká (Dom Dwyer) 43’
NE - Lee Nguyen 45+1’
ORL - Kaká (Dom Dwyer) 77’
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Cyle Larin) 84’
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún (Richie Laryea) 90’
Misconduct Summary:
NE - Xavier Kouassi (Red Card) 11’
NE - Claude Dielna (Yellow Card) 21’
ORL - Kaká (Yellow Card) 28’
NE - Scott Caldwell (Yellow Card) 29’
ORL - Léo Pereira (Yellow Card) 33’
ORL - Seb Hines (Yellow Card) 45’
NE - Antonio Delamea (Yellow Card) 57’
NE - Benjamin Angoua (Yellow Card) 85’
NE - Lee Nguyen (Yellow Card) 90+4’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Donny Toia, Léo Pereira (Tommy Redding 54’), Seb Hines, Scott Sutter, M Servando Carrasco, Yoshimar Yotún, Antonio Nocerino, Giles Barnes (Richie Laryea 71’), F Dom Dwyer, ⓒ Kaká (Cyle Larin 80’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Rafael Ramos, M Dillon Powers, F Carlos Rivas
New England Revolution - GK Cody Cropper, D Benjamin Angoua, Chris Tierney (Gershon Koffie 46’), Je-Vaughn Watson (Diego Fagundez 75’), Antonio Delamea, Claude Dielna, M Scott Caldwell (Daigo Kobayashi 54’), Xavier Kouassi, Lee Nguyen, F Teal Bunbury, Kei Kamara
Substitutes Not Used: GK Brad Knighton, D Andrew Farrell, F Juan Agudelo, Krisztian Nemeth
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: Sept. 27, 2017
Attendance: 23,018
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 59.1 %
NE - 40.9 %
Shots:
ORL - 21
NE - 10
Saves:
ORL - 4
NE - 5
Fouls:
ORL - 16
NE - 14
Corners:
ORL - 9
NE - 2
