MELBOURNE, Fla. (September 10, 2016) – Orlando City B (8-10-8, 32 points) continues its season-ending four-game road trip with a trip to Canada against Toronto FC II (6-17-5, 23 points) on Sunday, Sept 11. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Ontario Soccer Centre. The match will be streamed live at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/Live.
“There’s always a little bit of pressure when you get towards the end of the season and there’s a lot at stake. It’s the small margins at the moment that games are decided on. I’ve got every faith in the group of players that we’ve got. It’s the same group that went on a nine-game unbeaten run earlier this season,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “I’ll be trying to calm them down and approach it like any other game, which I think is important. We’ll be going to Toronto to try and be positive and to try and go and get three points.”
This is the second meeting of the season between these teams. On Aug. 6, the Lions opened the scoring in the 58th minute after forward Michael Cox made a darting run down the flank and found Lewis Neal for his first goal of the season. The goal carried the Lions until Toronto’s Mitchell Taintor leveled the match stoppage time. Just seconds later, Cox received a low cross just outside the six-yard box, turned and fired home a left-footed strike to give the Lions their second consecutive stoppage time win.
Cox leads the team with 10 goals and two assists on the year while Tyler Turner and Hadji Barry both have four goals each. Goalkeeper Mark Ridgers leads the USL with 94 saves.
OCB will look to rebound after Wednesday’s match at Wilmington. The Lions showed strong defensive form in the first half and had chances to equalize until the 71st minute when Wilmington’s Bruno Perone scored two goals in less than 10 minutes to give the Hammerheads the 3-0 win.
TFCII is coming off of a 5-1 loss to the Charlotte Independence. Midfielder Brian James fired home his second goal of the season for TFCII and goalkeeper Clint Irwin recorded his second start for the Young Reds. Sunday will be Toronto’s final home game of the season.
Toronto midfielder Raheem Edwards leads the Young Reds with six goals and three assists, while forward Shaan Hundal has added five goals and an assist.
OCB will be with First Team forward Pedro Ribeiro, who is working his way back from back surgery. Ribeiro started and played a full 90 minutes in the Lions’ thrilling 2-2 season opener and last played on March 18 against expansion rival NYCFC.
With just three games remaining in its inaugural United Soccer League (USL) season, OCB holds a two-point cushion over Wilmington for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Lions head to Cincinnati on Saturday, Sept. 17, for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff before closing out the regular season on Sept. 25 at Bethlehem.
