ORLANDO, Fla. (March 29, 2017) – Two weeks after winning its second consecutive home match, Orlando City SC (2-0-0, 6 points) travels to Ohio to face Columbus Crew SC (2-1-1, 7 points) for its first road match of the season on Saturday, April 1. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. ET at MAPFRE Stadium.
The match will be nationally televised on UniMás and streamed in English through Facebook Live on the Univision Facebook page. The match will also be transmitted on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish locally.
“[Columbus is] a very, very good team. This is the third year where it’s one of the better teams in the league. They’re very creative, very dynamic, very possession oriented. They create a lot of goal-scoring chances so it’s a massive challenge for us,”Jason Kreis said. “But I think it comes at the right time because I think we’re a team that has some confidence of our own, has established a little bit of a rhythm right now and a bit of confidence. I think that we’re ready for it.”
Orlando City visits Columbus after back-to-back wins its new home stadium. MLS All-Star striker Cyle Larin scored the only goal on Opening Day against expansion rival New York City FC before bagging two more against Philadelphia in a 2-1 win on March 18. Larin’s winner against the Union in the 73rd minute started with a nifty touch from Colombian forward Carlos Rivas before the Argentinian, Matías Pérez García, slid Larin a through ball into the box. Goalkeeper Joe Bendik continued his excellence against the Union with a stoppage-time save on an Alejandro Bedoya header to preserve the three points.
The two teams last met at MAPFRE Stadium on July 23, 2016, when the Lions battled back from a two-goal halftime deficit to earn a point. Tony Tchani and Ola Kamara both scored for Crew SC but second-half substitute Kaká made an immediate impact when his corner kick found Kevin Molino to cut the deficit in half. City then sealed the comeback in the 69th minute after a whipping cross from Molino ended with a thunderous header from Larin.
Larin has three of the Lions’ goals this season on assists from Jamaican international Giles Barnes, Rivas, and Pérez García. Donny Toia, former U.S. international Jonathan Spector and two-time MLS Cup champion Will Johnson anchor the Lions backline alongside a Uruguayan José Aja.
Crew SC is coming off two straight wins over D.C. United and the Portland Timbers. Kamara gave Columbus the lead when he scored for the third straight match, but it was Niko Hansen’s rebound goal in the 84th minute that secured the win for Crew SC. Alongside Kamara, Crew SC returns Justin Meram, Federico Higuaín and Ethan Finlay.
