Following another win inside its new fortress, Orlando City SC (6-1-0, 18 points) visits reigning Eastern Conference champion Toronto FC (3-1-4, 13 points) on Wednesday, May 3. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at BMO Field.
The match will be locally televised on WRDQ TV27. It will also be transmitted locally on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish.
“It’s difficult because we’ve got such a good rhythm in a way of working through our week and our training cycle and our preparation for the matches,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “Now we’re going to have to cram what we do in three days into one. The coaching staff is already working extremely hard along with our video analyst to prepare for Toronto and we only have one day for the players to really be talking about it and training for it. I think we’re going to be okay. We played Toronto in the preseason and I think we’re very aware of what they do and so I think we’re in a good spot.”
Orlando City is coming off its second consecutive clean sheet victory. City and Colorado played without a goal for over an hour but it barely took Carlos Rivas 10 minutes to blast home his first of the season and the eventual game-winner. Kaká made his grand return in the 60th minute and earned his first goal of the season on a tap-in in stoppage time.
City became the first club in MLS history to open a new stadium with five consecutive victories. It was the Lions’ fourth consecutive victory and third clean sheet. Cyle Larin made his 60th career start and enters Wednesday just 25 minutes from logging 5,000 in his MLS career. Larin leads the team and is tied for second in MLS with six goals. City will seek its second consecutive road victory following its 2-1 win at NYCFC on April 23.
Wednesday marks the seventh all-time meeting between the two teams. The Lions and Reds split the season series in 2016, with each team earning three points in Orlando and a scoreless draw in Toronto. On June 25, Justin Morrow drew TFC even in the 90th minute following goals by Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter but Kaká’s penalty kick off the bar and in secured all three points in stoppage time. City fell to Toronto on Aug. 24 and the teams drew on Sept. 28.
Toronto FC is coming off two straight wins at home. Most recently, TFC shutout the Houston Dynamo in a 2-0 win on Friday. USMNT forward Jozy Altidore netted a brace on Toronto’s 10-year anniversary at BMO Field, while goalkeeper Alex Bono recorded five saves. TFC is led by Altidore, 2015 MLS Golden Boot winner Sebastian Giovinco and USMNT captain Michael Bradley.
Orlando City continues its road trip on Saturday, May 6, when it visits the Houston Dynamo. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at BBVA Compass Stadium. City will then return home to face Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, May 13. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.
