ORLANDO, Fla. (April 1, 2016) – Coming off an exhilarating 1-0 road victory against New York City FC, Orlando City SC (1-0-2) will return home on Sunday to host the reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Champion, Portland Timbers (1-1-1). Kickoff is scheduled at 8 p.m. ET at the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
The game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1 and on Fox Deportes in Spanish. In addition, the game will be transmitted live in English on Real Radio 104.1 FM and in Spanish on La Grande 1030 AM. Tickets are available for purchase at www.OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
“It’s obviously nice to be back at the Citrus Bowl. It’s nice to be playing the defending champions, ” said Orlando City SC Head Coach Adrian Heath. “Portland’s the defending champions and you have to give them the respect they deserve. We always do. This team doesn’t need to fear anybody. We’ve got enough talent on this team to beat anybody in the league and we know it’s going to be a tough game but it’s one we are really looking forward to. I think it’s a really good opportunity for our supporters to see where we really are.”
City returns to league-play after last week’s MLS bye-week due to FIFA international fixtures. Orlando City captain Kaká is expected to make his first appearance of the season, while forward Cyle Larin, midfielders Darwin Cerén and Kevin Molino, and defender Tommy Redding will also be available for Sunday’s primetime match after being with their respective national teams.
After an impressive defensive performance to maintain a clean sheet and defeat New York City FC 1-0 on the road, the Lions will aim to remain unbeaten when welcoming the Timbers. City is one of the three undefeated MLS sides this season, and the only one in the Eastern Conference.
Additionally, Orlando will look to extend its MLS home unbeaten streak to nine, with its last home defeat dating back to July 18, 2015. This year, Heath’s side has drawn both of its games at the Orlando Citrus Bowl, battling back in added time to tie Real Salt Lake 2-2 in the season opener on March 6 and leveling 1-1 against the Chicago Fire on March 11.
City’s only previous match against a reigning MLS Cup Champion ended in a dominant performance, when the Lions defeated the LA Galaxy 4-0 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on May 17,2015 - the largest margin of victory by an expansion team over a defending MLS champion in league history.
Sunday’s fixture will be the second-time ever that the Lions and the Timbers square off, after finishes by Larin and Kaká stunned the crowd and earned City a 2-0 victory at Providence Park last year. Larin’s clever, chested finish would be the first of his 17 goals in a record-breaking campaign for the Canadian, resulting in 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year honors.
After three matches played, the 20-year-old attacker has already regained last year’s deadly scoring form, finding the back of the net three times in as many games, tied for second best in MLS thus far.
Following a remarkable road record in 2015, tied for most away victories in the league with seven, the Timbers visit Orlando looking to return to last year’s dominant form away from home. The MLS defending champions fell 2-1 against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium in their only road game so far.
Coming off their first MLS Cup Championship, the Timbers started the season with turbulent results, splitting their results 1-1-1. After a 2-1 home victory on opening day in an MLS Cup final rematch against Columbus Crew SC, Portland fell 2-1 on the road against the Earthquakes on March 13, then drew Real Salt Lake 2-2 at Providence Park on March 19. Nigerian striker Fanendo Adi leads the team on goals with three, while Jermaine Taylor and Nat Borchers have added an assist respectively.
