ORLANDO, Fla. (May 26, 2017) - Following another two-week layoff, Orlando City B (3-3-3, 12 points) hosts the Charlotte Independence (2-2-2, 8 points) at Orlando City Stadium on Saturday, May 27, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The match will be streamed online at www.OrlandoCitySC.com/LIVE.
“It’s been a strange month, only having two games in May,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “Positives of that are you get a lot of quality training time with the guys, which has been good. Having said that, I think everybody now is itching to get into a rhythm of playing games again. Boys have trained really well and we’re really looking forward to the game on Saturday.”
OCB is coming off its second two-week hiatus in a month. The Lions had 15 days between their 0-0 draw against Saint Louis FC and their 2-0 win at Cincinnati on May 13. OCB has posted three consecutive clean sheets and hasn’t allowed a goal in 280 minutes of play.
Most recently, Pierre Da Silva and Richie Laryea scored and Earl Edwards, Jr. made three saves to earn OCB’s second consecutive road win. Da Silva converted his first of the season and the eventual game-winner from the penalty spot. Laryea’s was his third goal as a pro and his third in as many games following his game-winning brace in Bethlehem.
Edwards Jr. is second in the USL with 27 saves while Da Silva is tied for second in the league with four assists.
Charlotte responded to a 4-0 loss to Rochester with an emphatic 5-1 victory over New York Red Bulls II on May 11. The Independence overcame an early deficit with two first-half goals and saw five players score goals. Charlotte is tied with Rochester for the fewest games played this season with just six.
This is the second meeting of the season between these two teams. On April 8, Albert Dikwa equalized with his first professional goal on Scott Thomsen’s first assist as a Lion.
These teams met three times in OCB’s 2016 expansion season and split the series, 1-1-1. OCB took the first decision, 2-1, on May 28, when Da Silva scored his first professional goal and assist to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit. The Lions and Independence tied, 1-1, on July 2 before Charlotte took the finale on Aug. 17. OCB midfielder Paul Clowes made 15 appearances for Charlotte in 2016.
