Orlando City aims to continue win streak in matchup with the Seattle Sounders
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando City SC (11-10-6, 39 points) is set to make a tight turnaround as it hosts Seattle Sounders FC (10-14-3, 33 points) on Wednesday, August 31 at Exploria Stadium. The match, presented by Socios.com, is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Wednesday’s game will be locally televised on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV, and transmitted on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9 in Spanish.
The Lions enter the match coming off another late game-winner from Tesho Akindele, who scored in the 96th minute to give Orlando a 2-1 victory over New York City FC. The finish accounted for Akindele's second-consecutive deciding finish after he scored the game-winning goal last week in a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC. The finish also marked the forward’s fourth goal against NYCFC, which is the most by any current City player. Iván Angulo recorded his first assist as a Lion on the game-winning finish.
Orlando found the early lead in the match courtesy of a Júnior Urso finish in the seventh minute. Urso combined with Facundo Torres to put together a beauty of a goal, with Torres setting the ball up for Urso who fired his laces through on the half-volley and straight into the back of the net. The goal counted as Urso’s fifth goal of the season, while Torres tallied his ninth assist of the campaign, which is just one behind captain Mauricio Pereyra for the team lead in all competitions.
The Sounders were defeated 2-1 in their most recent match against archrival Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Seattle got the early goal, scoring in the eighth minute courtesy of Yeimar Gómez Andrade. The ball found the feet of Alex Roldan, who played a looping cross into the box where Yeimar met the ball with his head right in front of goal to bag the set-piece strike. The Sounders are currently below the line in the race for the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. Including Seattle, six teams are separated by four points or less between sixth place and 11th place in the Western Conference.
After Wednesday’s match, the Lions will begin preparations for the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final against USL-based Sacramento Republic FC. The match was announced as a sellout and will serve as the first tournament final for the Lions hosted at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
BOTTOM LINE: Orlando City heads into a matchup against the Seattle Sounders as winners of three straight games.
Orlando is 6-7-0 in home games. Orlando has a 9-4 record in matches decided by one goal.
The Sounders are 3-9-2 in road games. The Sounders have a 4-1-1 record in games they record at least three goals.
The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ercan Kara has eight goals and two assists for Orlando. Facundo Torres has scored three goals over the last 10 games.
Nicolas Lodeiro has scored five goals with six assists for the Sounders. Jordan Morris has two goals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orlando: 4-4-2, averaging 1.2 goals, 4.1 shots on goal and 4.2 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.5 goals per game.
Sounders: 2-7-1, averaging 1.0 goal, 2.8 shots on goal and 5.5 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.7 goals per game.
NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Orlando: Joey Dezart (injured), Mauricio Pereyra (injured), Alexandre Pato (injured).
Sounders: Obed Vargas (injured), Joao Paulo (injured), Andrew Delmos Thomas (injured).