ORLANDO – February 25, 2015 – Orlando City SC will resume play in the 12th annual Carolina Challenge Cup tonight when they battle former USL PRO rival Charleston Battery in their second match of the tournament.
Kick-off is set for Wednesday, February 25th, at approximately 6:00 p.m. ET at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The match will livestreamed at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/LIVE. Due to expected inclement weather, the match will begin immediately following the end of the New York City FC / Houston Dynamo match.
"We have to build on what we already started. There were some really pleasing moments in the game against New York. We have to make them more and we have to take it longer," said Orlando City Head Coach Adrian Heath. "The game will have a different mentality, but what I want to do is hopefully put another layer on what we have been doing. Some of the stuff we've been doing in training hopefully may progress every aspect of our game on further."
This game will revive memories from previous years, when Orlando City SC and Charleston Battery battled in USL. Last year, the Lions were unbeaten against the Battery, recording two wins and a draw.
In the 2015 Carolina Challenge Cup, both teams began the annual tournament on the strong foot.
Orlando City kick-started their participation in the tournament in a hard-fought draw 1-1 draw against fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team New York City FC. Brazilian superstar Kaká opened the scoring in the 31st minute, finishing from 20 yards away, but his counterpart David Villa did well to set up Khiry Shelton for the equalizer in the 56th minute.
This will be the Lions' sixth preseason match, with previous games against D.C United, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Swedish first-division team BK Häcken, and New York City FC. The Lions have managed to remain unbeaten, recording a win and four draws, in preparation of the start of the MLS season.
The Charleston Battery kicked-off the tournament with a 1-0 win against MLS side Houston Dynamo, from Austin Savage's goal in the 69th minute, marking the team's third consecutive clean-sheet. Prior to the Carolina Challenge Cup, the Battery defeated the College of Charleston 2-0, and the Jacksonville Armada 1-0.
The 2015 Major League Soccer season kicks off at the Orlando Citrus Bowl as the Lions host New York City FC on March 8, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
