ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2021) - Orlando City SC (12-8-11, 47 points) heads back out on the road this week, traveling to face the Columbus Crew (10-13-8, 38 points) at Lower.com Field on Wednesday, Oct. 27. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage set to begin at 7 p.m. on FOX35 PLUS.
The match, presented by AUDI, will also be available to stream locally on LionNation TV while being transmitted on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9FM, 810AM in Spanish.
“We’re all in the same mode of trying to add points and trying to fight for results and I think Columbus has its own too. We have to go one game at a time and address this past game [against New England], put our shoes back on and try to refresh ourselves,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “Try to rejoin, try to understand what just happened and how we can get better and prepare for the Columbus game while trying to recover our energy too because we have to prepare ourselves. All of those things have to be done and that’s the difficulty of our job, but we’ll do it. We’re professionals, we’re ready to prepare for the game against Columbus and go fight for those points.”
The Lions will look to add to a five-game win streak against the Crew on Wednesday night dating back to the end of the 2018 MLS campaign in what will serve as the Club’s first visit to Lower.com Field. The two sides last faced off on Sept. 4 of this year, with City taking a 3-2 victory at Exploria Stadium thanks to a 69th-minute game-winner from Júnior Urso.
City enters the midweek following a 2-2 draw against the 2021 Supporters’ Shield winners New England Revolution on Sunday night at Exploria Stadium. Goals from Nani and Daryl Dike gave the Lions a two-goal lead in the match, but a second-half brace from Adam Buksa forced the two sides to split the points from the contest.
Nani leads City with 10 goals this season, followed by Dike with seven. Mauricio Pereyra continues to hold the team-high in assists with 10 on the year, one shy of setting a new single-season Club record.
Columbus enters Wednesday’s fixture following a 2-1 defeat from the New York Red Bulls this past Saturday. Cristian Cásseres opened the scoring in the match in the seventh minute to give the visitors an early lead only to be answered by the Crew’s Miguel Berry in the 18th. The match looked to be on the way to ending in a draw until an 87th-minute game-winner from Sean Nealis sent the visitors home with all three points.
Gyasi Zardes leads the Crew with nine goals this season but will be unavailable for Wednesday’s match due to injury. Lucas Zelarayán follows with eight, while Pedro Santos leads the side in assists at six.
Following Wednesday’s match, the Lions will return home for their last regular-season match at Exploria Stadium in 2021, set to host Nashville SC on Sunday, Oct. 31 in a 4 p.m. ET kickoff. Tickets are available here or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
