Orlando City (15-11-7, 52 points) vs Atlanta United (9-14-10, 37 points)
When: Saturday, 6:00 p.m
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: Real Radio 104.1, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Here are five storylines to watch on Saturday as the Lions host Atlanta United:
Defending the Den
Orlando City will look to wrap up the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage in the Round One best-of-three series in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs this Saturday when it hosts Atlanta United FC for a Decision Day clash. The Lions enter play in fourth and two points ahead of NYCFC in fifth, meaning a win, a New York City loss or draw, or a draw and a better goal difference than NYCFC will be enough to secure their home-field advantage. NYCFC is away to CF Montréal, which is looking to return to the postseason after a heartbreaking last-second elimination on Decision Day 2023. Both the Lions’ and NYCFC’s opponents need positive results to enter postseason play.
Claiming Even More Thrones
Orlando City forward Facundo Torres has played at a high level down the stretch for the Lions, and his efforts as a goal scorer have earned him the rightful place as the Club’s all-time leading goal scorer. With the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute of Orlando City’s win against the Philadelphia Union, the Las Piedras, Uruguay native scored his 45th career goal across all competitions for the Lions and broke a tie with former Lion Cyle Larin for most goals all-time in Club history. It was also Torres' 18th goal of the 2024 season across all competitions, tying Larin’s record for most goals in a single season set in 2015. With his next goal set to break another Larin record outright, El Cuervo will look to add one more to his season tally against rivals Atlanta United. Torres joined Orlando City prior to the 2022 MLS season and has led the Lions in scoring each of the past two seasons.
Lions on the Hunt
The Lions’ offense is rolling into Decision Day, seeing very high levels of attacking production and having scored multiple goals in seven consecutive matches, as well as 13 of the Lions’ last 15 regular-season games dating back to mid-June. In addition to forward Facundo Torres’ personal offensive hot streak, fellow forward Ramiro Enrique has tallied four goals and added two assists over his last four matches players, while midfielder Martín Ojeda has provided five helpers in his last six starts. Orlando City has scored 41 goals in its past 16 games and has already broken the Club record for goals scored in a single MLS regular season.
Best in Class
Orlando City is 10-2-1 in its last 13 regular season matches since the beginning of July, posting the best record of any team in Major League Soccer since July 1. The Lions have been even more dominant at Inter&Co Stadium over the past four months, going unbeaten in 10 straight games in downtown Orlando and posting a +19-goal difference during that streak when playing in the City Beautiful.
International Highlights
Orlando City SC saw five of its First Team players receive call-ups to represent their respective national teams in this most recent FIFA international window. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and midfielder Wilder Cartagena were selected to represent their native Peru against Facundo Torres and Uruguay and Brazil in CONMEBOL’s World Cup Qualifying matches, while Torres and Uruguay faced Ecuador in their second match of the window. Forward Favian Loyola traveled south to represent Chile’s U-20 national team, while defender Tahir Reid-Brown was called-up for a pair of friendlies in Valencia, Spain by the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team.
Milestone Tracker:
- Duncan McGuire sits tied with Kaká (25) for fourth on Orlando City’s all-time scoring list and is one goal away from taking sole possession of fourth place.
- Facundo Torres (25) is one assist away from tying former Lions captain Nani (26) for second on the Club’s all-time assist chart.
- Torres (18) also sits just one goal away from setting the Club record for goals in a single season across all competitions, which would break a tie with Cyle Larin (18) set in 2015.
