MELBOURNE, Fla. (April 20, 2016) – Orlando City B (0-3-2, 1 point) is back on the road this Friday, April 22 to take on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (0-1-1, 1 point) at Highmark Stadium in the first of two consecutive away contests for the Lions. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET.
The match will be the first USL game broadcasted by ESPN3, and will be also available online on WatchESPN.com.
“It’s going to be a tough game. Obviously, they have only played two games, and we have obviously watched them. They are a solid USL side, they are difficult to play against but we are really looking forward to get the guys away together for five days. It’s going to be a tough schedule playing Friday and Monday but everybody is looking forward to it,” said OCB Head Coach, Anthony Pulis.
This will be OCB’s first of five games in less than two weeks, as they face the Harrisburg City Islanders on the road on Monday, April 25, and then return home to host FC Montreal on Sunday, May 1, FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, May 4 and Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday, May 7.
Coming off a hard-fought battle at the Titan Soccer Complex, the Lions displayed relentless tenacity amidst daunting odds playing two men down and limiting the Islanders to a single goal in a 1-0 loss to Harrisburg.
This week’s fixture marks the second road match for the Lions this season. The last time OCB played away, City opened scoring with an early clinical finish from striker Michael Cox assisted by Richie Laryea against Eastern Conference leader, Louisville FC. Despite early momentum, OCB was unable to fend off Louisville City’s attack indefinitely resulting in OCB’s first road loss.
In just its second season under the leadership of Head Coach Mark Steffens, Pittsburgh enters the match with only two games under its belt to OCB’s four.
In their most recent fixture, the Riverhounds notched their first point of the season thanks to the last-minute heroics of midfielder Conor Branson to tie Toronto FC II 2-2 in stoppage time at Ontario Soccer Centre.
The Lions will face their former attacker Corey Hertzog, who was a member of the 2014 USL Regular Season championship team that registered four goals in 22 appearances. The 25-year-old striker recently joined the Hounds for the 2016 campaign, and has already registered an assist in two appearances.
Last year, Pittsburg clinched a playoff berth in their final game of the season, finished fifth in the Eastern Conference. Despite falling in the first round of playoffs, the Riverhounds ended the season with a 11-9-8 record and a total 55 goals, the most in the league.
