ORLANDO, Fla. (April 21, 2018) – Orlando City SC (4-2-1, 13 points) jumped out to a 3-0 lead before defeating the San Jose Earthquakes (1-3-2, 5 points) 3-2 on Saturday at Orlando City Stadium. Dom Dwyer scored his 100th career goal assisted by Justin Meram, rookie Chris Mueller scored the fastest goal in Orlando City history and earned his first professional assist in Sacha Kljestan’s second goal of the season.
A sell-out crowd of 25,527 saw the Lions capture their fourth win in a row and their third straight win at Orlando City Stadium.
“Another night I think the fans got their money's worth; another night the coach gets a few more grey hairs,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “But really, really pleased, obviously with four wins in a row. Really, really pleased with three wins in a row at home and I think we’re moving in a very positive direction. That’s the good news. The bad news is we still have a way to go but if you look at it one more way, it’s good that we know that - that we know we can do better.”
Mueller got City on the board just 63 seconds into the match. Yoshimar Yotún launched a cross-pitch ball for Mueller to chest down before turning the corner and rifling the ball into the roof of the net. It was Mueller’s third goal in three games and the earliest goal in City history, 35 seconds earlier than Kaká’s penalty kick on April 17, 2016 against the New England Revolution.
Then in the 35th minute, Yotún played a through ball for Mueller, who drove into the box and unselfishly laid it off for Kljestan to tap in. It was Kljestan’s second goal as a Lion and gave him four consecutive games with a goal or an assist.
Dwyer got his centennial goal in the 69th minute when Meram, who came on nine minutes earlier, found Dwyer in the box. Dwyer took a touch around Quakes goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell and slotted home his fifth goal in four games this season.
Tarbell saved Meram’s penalty kick attempt in the 86th minute.
San Jose scored on two corner kicks in the 78th and 90th minutes to pull within one.
City’s victory was the first for either team in the all-time series. All three previous meetings against San Jose ended in draws.
The Lions have won four straight for the third time in Club history. City won five straight from September to October 2015, four straight from October 2016 to March 2017 and four in a row in April 2017.
The match saw Cristian Higuita make his second start of the season and midfielder Oriol “Uri” Rosell make his Orlando City debut when he came on for Higuita in the 84th minute.
In celebration of Earth Day, both teams wore adidas Parley jerseys as part of MLS’ league-wide Greener Goals campaign, which were made of recycled ocean plastic waste. It was the second year that City took part in this initiative.
Next up, City heads to Colorado to take on the Rapids on Sunday, April 29. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Sunday, May 6, to host Real Salt Lake at 5 p.m. ET.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Match Notes
- This is City’s third four-game winning streak in Club history. City won five straight from Sept. to Oct. 2015, four straight from October 2016 to March 2017 and four in a row in April 2017.
- F Dom Dwyer’s goal was the 100th goal of his professional career. It was Dwyer’s fifth goal in four games this season. It is the first time Dwyer has scored goals in four consecutive games since October 2016.
- F Chris Mueller’s goal 63 seconds into the match was Orlando City’s fastest ever, passing M Kaká’s penalty kick 98 seconds into City’s draw against New England on April 17, 2016. Mueller is the first Lions rookie to score goals in three consecutive games since F Cyle Larin did it twice in 2015.
- The match marked M Yoshimar Yotún’s second two-assist game as a Lion (W, 6-1 vs. New England on Sept. 27, 2017).
- F Chris Mueller’s assist was the first of his professional career and the first by a Lion rookie since F Hadji Barry vs. Real Salt Lake on March 6, 2016.
M Uri Rosell made his Orlando City debut in the 84th minute when he came on in place of M Cristian Higuita. - M Will Johnson made his 30th start as a Lion.
- This is the first victory for either side in the all-time series. The Lions and Quakes tied their three previous games.
- Orlando City improves to 2-0-0 all-time in Parley jerseys.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Chris Mueller (Yoshimar Yotún) 2’
ORL - Sacha Kljestan (Chris Mueller, Yoshimar Yotún) 35’
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Justin Meram) 69’
SJ - Florian Jungwirth 78’
SJ - Florian Jungwirth (Magnus Eriksson) 90’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún (Yellow Card) 65’
SJ - Yefferson Quintana (Yellow Card) 73’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Mohamed El-Munir, Amro Tarek, Lamine Sané, Will Johnson, M Yoshimar Yotún, Cristian Higuita (Uri Rosell 84’), Stéfano Pinho (Justin Meram 60’), ⓒ Sacha Kljestan, Chris Mueller (Josué Colmán 78’), F Dom Dwyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Donny Toia, RJ Allen, M Dillon Powers
San Jose Earthquakes - GK Andrew Tarbell, D Shea Salinas (Jackson Yueill 68’), Francois Affolter, Yefferson Quintana, Nick Lima, M Jahmir Hyka (Valeri Qazaishvili 68’), Florian Jungwirth, Anibal Godoy, Magnus Eriksson, F Danny Hoesen (Quincy Amarikwa 82’), Chris Wondolowski
Substitutes Not Used: GK Matt Bersano, D Jimmy Ockford, M Fatai Alashe, Christopher Wehan
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:38 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: April 21, 2018
Attendance: 25,527
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 51.4 %
SJ - 48.6 %
Shots:
ORL - 11
SJ - 11
Saves:
ORL - 1
SJ - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 14
SJ - 19
Corners:
ORL - 3
SJ - 8
