ORLANDO, Fla. (April 27, 2017) - Following Sunday’s 2-1 win at New York City FC, Orlando City SC (5-1-0, 15 points) returns home to host Colorado Rapids (1-4-1, 4 points) on Saturday, April 29. Kickoff is set for 3:55 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
Orlando City’s sixth nationally televised match of the season will be broadcast on UniMás and streamed on Facebook Live. The match will also be transmitted locally on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish.
“I think it’s actually a very interesting team,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “When you look at the record of Colorado right now it’s not very impressive but if you look at the play, it’s a very dangerous team. If you really think about the results over the last three games and you look at the chances they’ve created, you walk away and you say they could’ve won those games instead of lost them. So I think they’re just going through a difficult stretch right now - an unlucky stretch. Been there many times before and I know that it’s dangerous because they could break out at any given moment.”
Last week the Lions picked up a 2-1 win at NYCFC, ending the Pigeons’ 11-game home-unbeaten run. Cyle Larin recorded his second brace of the year on assists from Carlos Rivas and full backs Scott Sutter and Donny Toia, first in the 31st minute and then in the 52nd. It was Rivas’ third assist of the season, Sutter’s second assist in as many games, and Toia’s first appearance on the scoresheet for the Lions. David Villa scored in the 74th minute but seven impeccable saves by Joe Bendik secured City’s first road win of 2016.
Larin, Bendik, Toia and Will Johnson were all named to the MLS Team of the Week and Kreis was named Team of the Week head coach. It was Larin’s third and Bendik’s fourth selection this season. Larin leads MLS with four game-winning goals and is second in the league with six on the season. Sunday’s win secured City’s 100th all-time MLS point.
Saturday will mark the third all-time meeting between both teams. In June 2015, the Lions earned a 2-0 win over the Rapids. Larin and Kaká scored three minutes apart with assists from Colombians Rivas and Cristian Higuita, respectively. City then took a point in Colorado with a clean sheet draw in August 2016. The match also could be Johnson's 200th career MLS regular-season start and Servando Carrasco's 50th appearance for Orlando City.
Colorado fell 1-0 against Minnesota United FC on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. Dominique Badji and Kevin Doyle lead the team with two goals each. Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard will serve the last game of his three-game suspension.
Following Saturday’s match, Orlando City will travel to face Toronto FC on Wednesday, May 3. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at BMO Field. The Lions will then travel to Houston to take on the Dynamo on Saturday before returning to Orlando City Stadium to host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, May 13. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
