ORLANDO, Fla. (October 14, 2017) - Orlando City SC (10-13-9, 39 points) will play its final home match of the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 15, when it hosts Columbus Crew SC (15-12-5, 50 points). Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
The match will be locally televised on WRDQ TV 27 and transmitted in English on Real Radio 104.1 FM and in Spanish on La Nueva 990 AM.
“Being that we’ve played them [two] times, we have a very clear understanding of what they’re about and how we can exploit them, as well as what we need to be aware of,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “I think we’ve done a pretty nice job of playing against them in both the games. This is a game that there could be a little extra motivation because we haven’t beaten them this season.”
In its last match on Sept. 30, Orlando City drew FC Dallas 0-0. Joe Bendik made five saves to earn his seventh clean sheet of the season. Bendik set his own single-season career high with his 115th save, passing his 114 from 2016, and City tied its team-best seven clean sheets from 2015.
Cyle Larin leads the team with 12 goals, while Kaká and Carlos Rivas are tied with five assists. Bendik leads the league in saves, four ahead of Minnesota’s Bobby Shuttleworth.
Columbus enters the match on a two-game winning streak and unbeaten in its last eight, most recently defeating D.C. United 2-0 at MAPFRE Stadium on Sept. 30. Josh Williams scored his second goal in as many games in the 14th minute before Justin Meram tacked on another in the 56th.
This is the third meeting of the season between these teams. Crew SC took a 2-0 victory in Columbus on April 1. On Aug. 19, Lalas Abubakar scored in the first half and Giles Barnes equalized in the 67th minute as City drew Crew SC 1-1.
Ola Kamara leads Columbus with 16 goals, while Meram has 13. Federico Higuaín leads the team with 11 assists.
The Lions enter the match eliminated from playoff contention, tied with Montreal, New England and Philadelphia at 39 points through 32 games. Columbus is currently fifth in the Eastern Conference.
City finishes its 2017 MLS campaign against the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 22. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET. The Lions will return to Orlando City Stadium one more time in 2017 for the ‘Fuerza Puerto Rico’ Friendly, on Saturday, Nov. 4. Tickets are available via ticketmaster.com or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
