Tesho Time
For the second week in a row, Tesho Akindele decided the match in favor of the Lions, finding the back of the net for a 96th-minute game-winner on Sunday night at Exploria Stadium. The goal served as his second in as many matches and his 20th for the Club across all competitions, scoring the deciding goal in Charlotte the match prior for the side in the 89th minute. With the finish, Akindele earned a spot on the MLS Team of the Week Bench.
Bear Season
Júnior Urso netted his fifth goal of the calendar year for Orlando City, setting a new career-high in all competitions for the Club. The Bear now sits with 13 finishes with 10 assists to add in 91 appearances since joining Orlando City ahead of the 2020 MLS season. The Brazilian led Orlando City on Sunday with five shots, led all starters with a 90% passing accuracy and won possession in the final third on two occasions. Urso now has two goals and two assists in his last five MLS matches.
Looking for a Fourth
City enters Wednesday’s match looking for its fourth-consecutive victory, capping off a pair of road victories on Sunday night with a late winner against its 2015 expansion rivals. Should the Lions take a win at the midweek, it would serve as the Club’s first four-game win streak since 2018 after securing its first three-match victory run since June 19-25 of last year.
El Cuervo
Facundo Torres had another impactful performance for the Lions on Sunday night, earning MLS Team of the Week honors for the third time this season. El Cuervo tallied the assist on Urso’s first-half finish, trailing only Mauricio Pereyra on the side, now with eight helpers in league play and nine in total in 2022.
Facing the Opposition
Wednesday will serve as Orlando City’s first meeting with the Sounders since 2019, last having taken on Seattle on May 15 of that season 1,204 days ago. The Lions have only met their midweek opposition five times in MLS play, with their first goal in Club history against the Sounders coming from current Orlando Pride Interim Head Coach and former Orlando City defender Seb Hines.
Milestone Tracker
- Orlando’s next clean sheet, its ninth, will mark a new single-season club record.
- Mauricio Pereyra will become the first player in Orlando City history to post multiple double-digit assist seasons in MLS with his next regular-season assist.
- Pereyra is two assists away from setting the new single-season record for assists in an MLS season. Pereyra’s 2021 season currently holds the record with three others (Kaká 2016, Yoshimar Yotún 2018, Nani 2019) at 10.
- The Lions’ captain’s next appearance will serve as his 90th for the Club.
- Antonio Carlos’ next appearance will suffice as his 75th in purple.
- Ercan Kara is two regular-season goals away from reaching double digits for the season.
- Kara would be the eighth Lion to reach that mark, the others being Cyle Larin (3x), Kevin Molino, Dom Dwyer, Nani (2x), Tesho Akindele, Chris Mueller, and Daryl Dike.
