ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 3, 2019) - Orlando City SC (8-11-5, 29 points) picked up a big win on Saturday night, defeating Western Conference side FC Dallas by a 2-0 scoreline at Exploria Stadium. The win capped off a busy week for the Lions, and fans, who hosted a soldout 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target just days before on the same field.
Tesho Akindele opened the scoring in the match early on, scoring his eighth of the season against his former team in the 13th minute. Carlos Ascues put things away in the final minutes for his first MLS career goal.
The win gives the Lions momentum heading into their next match, as they welcome rival Atlanta United on Tuesday evening for a historic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal.
Head Coach James O’Connor:
“Obviously very pleased with the win. I thought the mentality that the players showed was excellent and, as I just said, I think there was some outstanding individual performances. I think the effort from the guys to defend and then you look at - we’ve had some decent chances - we managed to take them at the end there. I think overall when you look at the commitment to defending it was excellent.”
Scoring Recap:
13’ Tesho Akindele (Ruan) - ORL 1, FCD 0
The Lions got on the board first with Ruan dribbling with pace to midfield from the right side before slotting a through ball in behind the Dallas defense for Tesho Akindele, who passed it directly into the far post for the first-time finish.
90+2’ Carlos Ascues (Sacha Kljestan, Tesho Akindele) - ORL 2, FCD 0
Midfielder Carlos Ascues added some stoppage time insurance for the Lions, scoring his first career MLS goal to double Orlando’s lead. The home side played some tic-tac passing in the final third, before Sacha Kljestan found Ascues open in the middle for the goal.
- Tesho Akindele scored his eighth goal of the season against his former Club, setting a career-high for goals scored in a single regular season. Akindele scored eight goals in his rookie season with FC Dallas, seven in the regular season and one in postseason play during his 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year campaign.
- Akindele served as the team’s captain for the first time as a Lion, and the first time in his career, earning the armband against his former club.
- Orlando City EVP of Soccer Operations Luiz Muzzi is another former member of FC Dallas, having most recently served as the team’s VP of Soccer Operations.
- With his lone assist in the match, Sacha Kljestan recorded his 92nd in MLS, passing former LA Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones for sole possession of eighth place in league history.
- The late-game goal scored by midfielder Carlos Ascues served as his first-ever career MLS goal.
- The Lions recorded their sixth shutout of the 2019 season, one shy of tying the Club-record of seven set in both 2015 and 2017. Goalkeeper Brian Rowe has been responsible for all six of the Lions’ shutouts this season.
Next Match: The Lions face off against Atlanta United FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal round on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at Exploria Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. City will return to league play on Saturday, Aug. 10 when it travels to face Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Scoring Summary:
ORL - Tesho Akindele (Ruan) 13’
ORL - Carlos Ascues (Sacha Kljestan, Tesho Akindele) 90+2’
Misconduct Summary:
FCD - Reto Ziegler (Yellow Card) 20’
FCD - Paxton Pomykal (Yellow Card) 39’
FCD - Brandon Servania (Yellow Card) 45’
ORL - Sebastián Méndez (Yellow Card) 69’
FCD - Jesús Ferreira (Yellow Card) 82’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Brian Rowe; D João Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, Ruan; M Will Johnson (Kyle Smith 90+3’), Carlos Ascues, Sebastián Méndez; F Tesho Akindele ©, Dom Dwyer (Nani 72’), Chris Mueller (Sacha Kljestan 54’)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Adam Grinwis; D Kamal Miller; M Dillon Powers; F Robinho
FC Dallas - GK Jesse Gonzalez; D Ryan Hollingshead, Reto Ziegler ©, Matt Hedges, Bressan (Bryan Reynolds 85’); M Jacori Hayes, Paxton Pomykal, Brandon Servania (Dominique Badji 46’); F Edwin Gyasi (Michael Barrios 30’), Jesús Ferreira, Santiago Mosquera
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jimmy Maurer; D John Nelson; M Thomas Roberts, Edwin Cerrillo
Details of the Game:
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Sunny
Date: Aug. 3, 2019
Attendance: 22,479
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 35.8%
FCD - 64.2%
Shots:
ORL - 9
FCD - 11
Saves:
ORL - 3
FCD - 1
Fouls:
ORL - 14
FCD - 16
Corners:
ORL - 2
FCD - 10
