After their first road match of the season, Orlando City SC (2-1-0, 6 points) returns to the City Beautiful to host the New York Red Bulls (2-2-1, 7 points). Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium.
The match will be nationally televised on ESPN and transmitted locally on Real Radio 104.1 FM in English and on La Nueva 990 AM in Spanish.
“I see the Red Bulls playing in a different shape but still all the same philosophies in how they play. A lot of passing combinations, outside backs getting forward, a lot of movement and dynamism in how they play so there’s got to be passing and organization on our part to defend those situations,” Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “I feel good about our group to be honest. We’re in a good spot. We have a couple of wins, one loss, but we need to improve. All of us know that and I believe that we will.”
City comes into the into the match following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Columbus. Justin Meram scored once in each half despite Orlando City controlling the majority of possession and more than doubling Crew SC’s shot total. It was City’s first road match of the season.
The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium where they are a perfect 2-0-0. Cyle Larin scored the only goal on Opening Day and tallied twice against Philadelphia on March 18. Carlos Rivas earned an assist in each game and goalkeeper Joe Bendik posted seven saves, including the MLS Save of the Week against NYC.
New York comes into the match following a 4-1 defeat to the Houston Dynamo on April 1. Before that was a scoreless draw with Real Salt Lake and a 3-1 loss at Seattle. The Red Bulls defeated Atlanta and Colorado in their first two games of the season. Bradley Wright-Phillips leads NYRB with two goals, as does Sacha Kljestan with two assists. Goalkeeper Luis Robles is second in MLS with 16 saves and has two shutouts.
