Orlando City B (4-5-8, 24 points) at Chattanooga FC (6-6-6, 28 points)
When: Saturday, July 27, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, Ten.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
We’ll Call It a Draw
Last Sunday night, the young Lions visited New York Red Bulls II at MSU Soccer Park for just the second time in Club history since joining MLS NEXT Pro. The only previous meeting away saw Orlando City B fall to the Red Bulls by a 2-1 scoreline in July 2023. This matchup however would be different. After trailing 1-0 heading into second-half stoppage time, it looked as if the Lions were going to drop another match in New Jersey. However, second-half substitute Justin Ellis came through with a stoppage-time strike just moments before the final whistle to send the game to the end-of-regulation shootout. OCB would drop the shootout 8-7, missing out on the extra point, but it was the first point taken in Club history at MSU Soccer Park.
Nothing Separating the Two
Orlando City B will continue its road trip and make another stop at Finley Stadium to take on Eastern Conference foes Chattanooga FC. Saturday’s match will be the third and final match between the two squads after playing to a draw in each of the last two meetings. It was a 1-1 scoreline last time in Chattanooga back in May of this season, with the home team winning the end-of-regulation shootout 5-4. The most recent match was at Osceola Heritage Park, where the Lions were able to play to a 2-2 draw, but Chattanooga once again won the shootout 4-2 to steal the extra point.
Cardiac Cats
The young Lions are winless in their last seven matches but have still come away with 8 points through five different draws. During this span, OCB has consistently found a way to snatch a point from the jaws of defeat. Over this same span, OCB has scored 10 goals with five of them coming in the last 10 minutes of play, including stoppage time. In four of the last six matches, these late game theatrics have been the deciding factor between taking one point, with a chance at two, or no points at all.
Keeping Possession
Orlando City B ranks near the middle of the MLS NEXT Pro leader board with 30 goals, but this may be by design. The Lions play a slow, methodical game where they want to keep as much possession as possible and pick the right moment to attack. This tactic can be seen in the Club’s passing stats. OCB is in the bottom 10 in passes attempted (6575) and passes completed (5636) but they have the 11th best passing percentage at 85.7%. Among MLS NEXT Pro players that have at least 600 passes attempted, OCB captain Imanol Almaguer ranks in the top 20 with an 88.9% completion percentage.
