Orlando City (3-5-4, 13 points) at San Jose Earthquakes (3-9-1, 10 points)
When: Saturday, 10:30 p.m
Where: PayPal Stadium, San Jose, CA
Radio: 96.9 the Game FM, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Here are five storylines to watch on Saturday when Orlando City SC head west to face the San Jose Earthquakes:
Shaking Up the Quakes
The last time Orlando City and the San Jose Earthquakes faced off was in 2021 at INTER&Co Stadium for a midweek matchup. The Lions hit the gas immediately and never let up, scoring three times in the opening 31 minutes, with former Lions Daryl Dike and Benji Michel both scoring braces on the night and former captain Nani opening the scoring just seven minutes into the contest. The win for Orlando was the largest score differential in series history.
History Renewed
Orlando City midfielder Nico Lodeiro has played the San Jose Earthquake more than any other player on the Lions’ active roster due to his time with the Seattle Sounders. The Uruguayan playmaker has taken on San Jose 13 different times, scoring a total of six goals across all competitions and adding an additional seven assists to average at least one goal contribution against the Quakes per appearance. So far in 2024, Lodeiro has tallied two goals and provided seven helpers for the Lions across all competitions.
Climbing on Up
Uruguayan forward Facundo Torres will be looking to climb the ranks even further on Orlando City’s all-time scoring chart in Club history this weekend. Torres’ next goal will be his 32nd all-time for the Lions and will take him past former captain Nani for sole possession of second place in Club history. Torres has already scored four goals across all competitions in 2024 and has played two consecutive games in which he’s contributed to a goal, with one goal and an assist across that span.
Lockdown Defense
The Lions defense stood strong against Inter Miami CF during the midweek matchup, frustrating the Herons at every turn. Orlando City’s defensive efforts held Inter Miami to six shots all game, which stood as their fewest in any game this year and kept the South Florida side to an expected goals number of 0.60 which is their second lowest of the campaign to date. The shutout of their intrastate foes served as the Lions’ fifth clean sheet across all competitions.
Keeping it Clean
As a huge part of that defensive effort, goalkeeper Pedro Gallese stood tall in net to keep the highest-scoring team in MLS this year from finding the back of the net at the midweek. The Peruvian shot-stopper made three saves on the night, including one against forward Luis Suárez in the opening minutes to keep Miami scoreless in the matchup, and brought his save total for the season up to 30. With the clean sheet on the night, Orlando City remained undefeated against Inter Miami in Orlando, posting a home record in the series of 3-0-5 across all competitions.
Milestone Tracker:
- Facundo Torres' next goal will be his 32nd across all competitions, giving him sole possession of second all-time in Orlando City history
- Duncan McGuire is one goal away from tying Chris Mueller (22) for sixth on Orlando City’s all-time scoring list
- Rafael Santos is two appearances away from 50 for Orlando City across all competitions
