ORLANDO, Fla. (June 23, 2022) - Orlando City SC (7-5-4, 25 points) heads back on the road to match up against FC Cincinnati (6-7-2, 20 points) at TQL Stadium on Friday, June 24. The match is set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be locally televised on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV.
In addition to being televised on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV, local radio coverage of the match will be available on 96.9 The Game in English and Acción 97.9 in Spanish.
“After the good victory against Houston, we are getting ready to go off to Cincinnati,” said Head Coach Oscar Pareja. “A team that we have already played here at home and it was a good performance, but not a good result. This gives us the opportunity to get those points that we left in our home stadium. We recognize that Cincinnati has been improving a lot in the last two years. It will be a good match for sure, a confidence match. It’s important to keep getting points and important to keep being consistent with winning. That is our responsibility and we are very aware of that.”
This is the second matchup between the two sides during the 2022 regular season campaign. Cincinnati earned a 2-1 victory over the Lions earlier this year at Exploria Stadium. Orlando midfielder Júnior Urso scored the lone goal for the home side with a header in the 42nd minute.
This will be the third trip the Lions have taken to TQL Stadium since the venue opened during the 2021 season. City went unbeaten in their two trips to TQL last year after earning a 1-1 draw with Nani hitting the back of the net for the Lions. Orlando took a second trip to Cincinnati last season on October 16 and came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal scored by Júnior Urso in the 13th minute.
City enters the match after picking up three points over the weekend, defeating Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 at Exploria Stadium on Saturday. Forward Ercan Kara scored a brace while midfielder Mauricio Pereyra tallied a pair of assists. Kara leads the team with six goals during the MLS regular season and seven goals across all competitions. Pereyra has eight assists during the regular season campaign, which is tied for the lead league along with New England Revolution midfielder Carlos Gil.
FC Cincinnati earned a point on the road at Philadelphia with a 1-1 draw in its last outing, scoring in the 39th minute off a diving header from Brandon Vázquez, which served as his eighth goal of the season, tying the record for most goals in a single season in club history.
The Lions return home at the midweek to host Nashville SC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, June 29 at Exploria Stadium. Kickoff for that match is set for 7 p.m. ET. with tickets available here or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
