Orlando City B (5-6-9, 24 points) earned its second straight clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against the Harrisburg City Islanders (6-9-6, 24 points) Wednesday night at Orlando City Stadium. It is OCB’s seventh clean sheet of the season and its third in four games.
“I feel like it’s déjà vu as the last four home games now, probably going to say the exact same thing where we had the majority of the ball with some really good passages of play,” OCB Head Coach Anthony Pulis said. “Just [missing] the end product again, as you’ve seen. We’re creating good chances, we just can’t finish them off at the moment.”
Orlando City B had seven First Team players earn minutes against the Islanders. Goalkeeper Earl Edwards, Jr., defenders PC and Léo Pereira and forward Pierre Da Silva were all in the starting XI. First Team forward Hadji Barry, midfielder Tony Rocha and defender Conor Donovan were subbed in during the second half.
The Lions controlled 52.2% of possession and tallied 13 shots, consistently finding themselves in scoring positions but unable to capitalize. In the 27th minute, Da Silva whipped in a free kick to the far corner that Harrisburg goalkeeper Brandon Miller tipped up and off the bar. Da Silva then set up Scott Thomsen with a great run up the left wing and into the box, but Thomsen’s shot sailed high.
Thomsen had another chance in stoppage time, but Miller dove across his goal to keep it out.
The match saw Edwards make three saves, including one on a shot from distance by Harrisburg City’s Ropapa Mensah in the 92nd minute. Edwards managed a back line with four new starters from Saturday’s clean sheet in Charleston.
“He’s been fantastic for us all year,” Pulis said of Edwards. “Don’t think he really had an awful lot to do tonight. As you probably can see he’s a vocal presence. His leadership qualities are fantastic. He organizes everyone around him. The five guys that played at the back tonight, including Conor Donovan that came on at halftime, I thought performed really well.”
The draw extends Orlando City B’s unbeaten streak to six games. OCB moves into a four-way tie with Harrisburg, Ottawa and New York for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando City B returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 5, when it visits FC Cincinnati. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Lions then head to Richmond on Aug. 12 before returning to Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 16 to host Ottawa Fury FC.
Tickets to all Orlando City B home matches can be purchased at orlandocityb.com/tickets or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
