CHESTER, Pa. (April 13, 2018) – Orlando City SC (3-2-1, 10 points) picked up its third consecutive victory in a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union (1-2-2, 5 points) on Friday at Talen Energy Stadium. Dom Dwyer scored the game-winning goal before rookie Chris Mueller scored his second goal in as many games.
“Really proud of the guys’ effort tonight. The performance was, for me, the most complete game of the year. There’s no question about it,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “Our guys’ commitment to stay the course and not become too rattled I thought was really good. We couldn’t be happier with the complete performance.”
After weathering early pressure from Philadelphia, Orlando City struck first when Sacha Kljestan chipped the ball over the Union back line for Dwyer, who took a touch before slipping it inside the far post in the 38th minute. The goal was the 99th of Dwyer’s career and his fourth in three games this season.
It was Kljestan's second assist as a Lion and tied Andy Williams for ninth-most regular season assists in MLS history (86).
Just seven minutes later, Mueller drove the box, regained possession and fired a low shot past goalkeeper Andre Blake. It was Mueller’s second career goal and gave City its first two-goal lead of the season.
Orlando City got its best goalkeeping performance of the season from Joe Bendik, who made a season-high six saves to earn his first clean sheet of 2018. Bendik came up huge on shots from Union attackers David Accam, Fafa Picault and captain Alejandro Bedoya. It was the Lions’ first clean sheet victory since June 30, 2017, at Real Salt Lake.
“Tonight I think we saw for the first time the collective mindset that we weren’t going to give anything away defensively,” Kreis added. “That led to us being very balanced, very well organized and we shut them down.”
The match saw Mueller, Stéfano Pinho, Amro Tarek and RJ Allen make their return to the starting XI. Cristian Higuita made his second appearance of the season when he came in for Allen in the 29th minute. The Colombian midfielder was a solid presence in the midfield to slow Union attacks and regain possession. Will Johnson moved to right back to replace Allen and put in an excellent defensive shift against the speedy Accam.
The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Saturday, April 21, to host the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Match Notes
- This is Orlando City’s first three-game winning streak since April 2017.
- It is City’s first shutout since Sept. 30, 2017 (D, 0-0 vs. Dallas) and its first clean sheet victory since June 30, 2017 (W, 1-0 at RSL). The win is City’s first on the road since Sept. 9, 2017 (W, 2-1 at D.C.).
- Orlando City had four new starters from Sunday’s win over Portland. D
- Amro Tarek made his first start since March 31 vs. NY Red Bulls. F
- Chris Mueller and D RJ Allen made their first starts since March 17 at New York City. F Stéfano Pinho made his first start since March 10 vs. Minnesota.
- F Dom Dwyer scored his 99th career professional goal in the 38th minute. It was the first time the Lions scored first in a game this season and was Orlando City’s 150th MLS goal.
- M Sacha Kljestan earned his second assist as a Lion on F Dom Dwyer’s goal. Kljestan tied Andy Williams for ninth-most regular season assists in MLS history (86). Kljestan started the match with the captain’s armband for the second time this season (March 31 vs. RBNY).
- F Chris Mueller scored his second career goal in as many games. Mueller’s goal gave City its first two-goal lead since Sept. 27, 2017 (W, 6-1 vs. New England).
- GK Joe Bendik’s six saves mark a season-high. Bendik was shown a yellow card in the 63rd minute. It is Bendik’s first yellow card since May 31, 2017 (W, 2-0 vs. D.C. United).
- M Cristian Higuita made his first appearance since March 17 when he came on for D RJ Allen in the 29th minute. M Will Johnson moved to right back.
- M Uri Rosell was included in City’s 18-man gameday lineup for the first time.
- The Lions’ last three road goals have been scored at Talen Energy Stadium.
- Orlando City improves to 2-0-0 all-time on Friday the 13th. The Lions picked up their first ever MLS win on Friday, March 13, 2015, in Houston.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Sacha Kljestan) 38’
ORL - Chris Mueller 45’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Joe Bendik (Yellow Card) 63’
PHI - Matthew Real (Yellow Card) 67’
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Yellow Card) 74’
ORL - Mohamed El-Munir (Yellow Card) 79’
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún (Yellow Card) 79’
PHI - Keegan Rosenberry (Yellow Card) 81’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Philadelphia Union - GK Andre Blake, D Keegan Rosenberry, Auston Trusty, Matthew Real, Jack Elliott (Mark McKenzie 52’), M ⓒ Alejandro Bedoya, Borek Dockal, Haris Medunjanin, David Accam (Jay Simpson 76’), Fafa Picault (Ilsinho 60’), F C.J. Sapong
Substitutes Not Used: GK John McCarthy, D Raymon Gaddis, M Anthony Fontana, Warren Creavalle
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Mohamed El-Munir, Amro Tarek, Lamine Sané, RJ Allen (Cristian Higuita 29’), M Yoshimar Yotún, Will Johnson, Chris Mueller (Josué Colmán 89’), ⓒ Sacha Kljestan, Stéfano Pinho (Justin Meram 64’), F Dom Dwyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Donny Toia, M Dillon Powers, Uri Rosell
Details of the Game:
Time: 8:08 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: April 13, 2018
Attendance: 16,032
Stats:
Possession:
PHI - 55.2 %
ORL - 44.8 %
Shots:
PHI - 20
ORL - 8
Saves:
PHI - 0
ORL - 6
Fouls:
PHI - 16
ORL - 11
Corners:
PHI - 14
ORL - 3
