Last Time in the 407
Saturday night marks the first time that Houston Dynamo FC will make a visit to downtown Orlando in nearly four years, last visiting Exploria Stadium on Sept. 22, 2018. That match resulted in a scoreless draw, with current Orlando City goalkeeper Adam Grinwis earning the clean sheet in his MLS debut, tallying three saves to earn the shutout.
First for the Viking
Robin Jansson scored his first goal of the season on Wednesday in the Lions’ midweek match at New England Revolution. The finish marked the seventh goal by an Orlando City defender this regular season, joining João Moutinho and Ruan with two scores each, along with Rodrigo Schlegel and Kyle Smith with one apiece in 2022. As a Lion, Jansson has now found the back of the net five times in all competitions.
Mr. 100
Tesho Akindele tallied his 100th appearance as a Lion across all competitions on Wednesday night, entering the game in second-half stoppage time. Akindele becomes the fourth Orlando City player to hit the century mark, joining former Lions Cristian Higuita and Chris Mueller, as well as teammate Robin Jansson. Akindele was acquired by the Lions ahead of the 2019 MLS campaign and has since appeared 100 times with 58 starts, scoring 18 goals and adding eight assists.
Lockdown Defense
João Moutinho is currently tied for the league-lead in tackles won with 33 so far this season. The defender has already doubled his total tackles won from last season (16). Moutinho has started all 15 games this campaign for the Lions and sits in the top 10 for most minutes played across the entire league with 1,347.
Celebrating Juneteenth
- Across MLS this weekend, players will be sporting kits with Juneteenth-inspired numbers designed by Judah, a Black queer artist from Childersburg, Alabama. Judah, who now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., created the numbers – a vibrant yellow, green, and red color palette, to represent the blood, soil and prosperity of Africa and its people. In addition to the jerseys, Adidas has also created Unity pre-match tops to celebrate diversity and unity. Fans will have an opportunity to purchase the Unity pre-match tops, while the jerseys will be auctioned off after the match with Orlando City’s proceeds benefiting local non-profit My Brother’s Keeper.
Milestone Tracker
- Road to 100 Appearances:
- Ruan’s next outing will serve as his 96th in purple.
- Benji Michel’s next appearance will be his 95th for the Club.
- Tesho Akindele is two goals away from 20 for Orlando City.
- João Moutinho’s next start will be his 60th as a Lion.
