KISSIMMEE, Fla. (May 26, 2024) – Orlando City B (4-3-3, 16 points) scored a season high five goals in a dominant 5-0 win over Huntsville City FC (0-4-6, 3 points) at Osceola County Stadium on Sunday evening. Four different Lions scored, including Yeiler Valencia who picked up a brace.
The Lions scored an early goal from forward Jhon Solís in the 12th minute, on a pass from Yutaro Tsukada who returned to OCB for the first time since May 8 after spending three games with Orlando City. Tsukada picked up his eighth goal contribution of the season after scoring on a free kick early in the second half.
Forward Shak Mohammed extended his goal-scoring streak to four games after punching his team-leading fifth goal of the season off an Alex Freeman assist.
Second-half substitute Valencia took only three minutes to notch the first goal of his career in the 80th minute. Ten minutes later, he scored his second goal of the night, giving OCB its largest scoring total of the season.
Goalkeeper Javier Otero made his return to the starting lineup and made four saves, including one in the 89th minute that clinched the clean sheet for the Lions.
The Lions will travel to Chase Stadium to take on in-state rival Inter Miami CF II on Sunday, June 2. That match will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Scoring Summary:
12’ Jhon Solís (Yutaro Tsukada) – ORL 1, HNT 0
The Lions pulled ahead early on a counterattack started by a save from goalkeeper Javier Otero, who quickly threw the ball out to Jhon Solís near midfield. Solís gave it up to Yutaro Tsukada who took the ball deep into the Huntsville defensive third. After stringing together several moves inside the box, Tsukada found space and sent in a low pass back to Solís who finished the play with a goal and gave OCB the early lead.
48’ Yutaro Tsukada – ORL 2, HNT 0
Just three minutes into the second half, OCB extended its lead on a Tsukada free kick. The Lions built an attack in the Huntsville zone and Tsukada drew a whistle from just outside the box. The rookie stepped up to take the ensuing free kick and curled a shot past the goalkeeper to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
65’ Shak Mohammed (Alex Freeman) – ORL 3, HNT 0
OCB continued to add to its total with a tap-in from forward Shak Mohammed. Solís intercepted a pass from Huntsville in the middle of the field and led Alex Freeman to the outside. Freeman took a few dribbles and sent a low cross the snuck under goalkeeper Ben Martino and found Mohammed directly in front of the net, who tapped in his fifth goal of the season.
80’ Yeiler Valencia (Manuel Cocca) – ORL 4, HNT 0
The Lions continued their dominance with a goal from second-half substitute Yeiler Valencia. Just three minutes after coming into the game, Valencia caught up to a long lead pass from Manuel Cocca. Valencia took a Huntsville defender one-on-one down towards the end line before ripping in a shot for his first goal of his MLS NEXT Pro career.
90' Yeiler Valencia (Favian Loyola) – ORL 5, HNT 0
Orlando wasn’t finished scoring on the night, with another goal from Valencia. Fellow substitute Favian Loyola gained control of the ball near midfield and sent in a long pass to Valencia, who found his way behind the Huntsville back line. With just the keeper to beat, Valencia knocked in his second goal of the night.
Match Notes:
- Jhon Solís scored his second goal of the season, first since the season opener against Atlanta United 2.
- Shak Mohammed extended his scoring streak to four-straight games with a second-half goal. It also counted as Mohammed’s fifth goal of the season, which put him in a tie for fourth on the MLS NEXT Pro leaderboard.
- Yutaro Tsukada tallied his team-leading seventh and eighth goal contributions, picking up an assist and a goal on the night.
- Yeiler Valencia scored his first and second goals of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season after coming in as a second-half substitute.
- OCB scored a season-high five goals against Huntsville City FC, its most since July 2, 2023, when they also scored five against FC Cincinnati 2.
- Head Coach Manuel Goldberg made two changes to his starting lineup from his side’s last match against Columbus Crew 2, with Javier Otero and Yutaro Tsukada returning to the lineup.
