ORLANDO, Fla. (July 17, 2020) - Orlando City SC (2-1-1, 7 points / 2-0-0, 6 points) will close out play in Group A of the MLS is Back Tournament against the Philadelphia Union (2-1-1, 7 points / 2-0-0, 6 points) on Monday, July 20 at 8 p.m. ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
With their spot in the Round of 16 already clinched, the Lions will now look to lock up the top spot in Group A ahead of the MLS is Back Tournament Knockout Stage Presented by Audi. A win or draw against the Union on Monday would give City the No. 1 seed heading into the knockouts.
The match will be nationally televised on Univision (TUDN) with English commentary available live on Twitter. Fans can also transmit the game on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9FM, 810AM in Spanish. For a match preview, fans can tune into the Orlando City Roundtable presented by Heineken ahead of Tuesday’s match, streaming on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the LionNation App at 7 p.m. ET.
“I think the most challenging thing looking at Philadelphia is their organization and their energy being a young group. That will need to be faced with the same level of energy and the same level of concentration and we know that,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said of Monday’s match. “It’s going to be a good match. They’re a team that is going to create some challenges and at the same time is going to have some weaknesses as well that hopefully we can take advantage of.”
City enters Monday’s match sitting atop Group A following a 3-1 victory over 2015 expansion rivals New York City FC on Tuesday night. Chris Mueller opened the scoring early for the Lions, netting the fastest brace in Club history with goals in the fourth and 10th minutes respectively. Jesús Medina would grab one back for the Pigeons in the 38th minute, but Tesho Akindele doubled the Lions’ advantage once more, adding the insurance goal in the 81st minute.
Mueller now leads the Lions with three finishes in the MLS is Back Tournament and four total in the calendar year, followed by Akindele and Nani each with one apiece. Six members of the squad currently sit tied for the team lead in assists with one each in Andrés Perea, Dom Dwyer, Nani, Ruan, Júnior Urso and João Moutinho.
Philadelphia comes into the game following a 2-1 victory over Inter Miami CF late Tuesday night. Kai Wagner got the Union started early with a finish in the fifth minute only to be answered by Miami’s Rodolfo Pizarro in the 36th to level the two sides. Kacper Przybylko gave the Union all three points however, scoring the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute.
The Union have now found the back of the net six times with six different goal-scorers in 2020, while three members of the side have registered an assist this year. Goalkeeper Andre Blake has remained true to form thus far in the tournament, with 11 saves through two matches for the Union.
With a win or draw on Monday, the Lions will take on a third-place finisher to open the Round of 16 on Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m. ET. A loss would see Orlando City square off with the second-place finisher in Group C later that night at 10:30 p.m. ET.
