1 - Unforgettable Firsts
Jason Kreisā first game as the Lions head coach was a 3-1 win over the New England Revolution on July 31, 2016. Cyle Larin erased the Revsā lead in the 46th minute when he combined with Kevin Molino and fired a left-footed shot to the far post. Molino then scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season.
Kreis was hired as the Clubās second-ever head coach on July 19 in the midst of Orlando Cityās three-game road trip. Interim head coach Bobby Murphy finished the road stretch with a thrilling 2-2 draw in Columbus and earned points in three of four games at the helm.
Orlando City striker Carlos Rivas scored his first career MLS goal against New England on April 30, 2016. Rivas poked his stoppage-time equalizer to give City its second 2-2 draw against New England in two weeks.
2 - Down The Stretch
Orlando City has eight matches remaining in 2017. Six of those are against Eastern Conference teams, and two of those are at Orlando City Stadium. On Saturday, the Lions begin a four-game road trip - the longest of the season - that will take them from New England to D.C. to Atlanta and finally Portland. City then returns home to face New England on a Wednesday before hosting FC Dallas in the Clubās 100th MLS match. City finishes its 2017 home slate against Columbus before its season finale at Philadelphia.
3 - Club And Country
Both Orlando City and New England will be without several key players due to international call-ups. The Lions will be without leading scorer Cyle Larin (Canada) and new signing Yoshimar YotuĢn (Peru), while the Revs will be missing Antonio Delamea (Slovenia) and Je-Vaughn Watson (Jamaica).
4 - Thrilling Finishes
Orlando City is 1-1-3 all-time against New England and the Revs hold a slight 10-9 goal advantage. Of Cityās nine goals against New England, seven have been scored in the final 30 minutes and five of those have been scored in the 76th minute or later.
In the first meeting in 2015, Cyle Larin scored in the 75th minute before AureĢlien Collinās 90th-minute header off the bar leveled it at two. Then in the first meeting of 2016, KakaĢ scored the fastest penalty kick in MLS history in the second minute before Kevin Molino put City ahead in second-half stoppage time. A controversial decision awarded New England a penalty in stoppage time to equalize. Two weeks later in Foxborough, Carlos Rivasā first MLS in stoppage time gave the series its third 2-2 draw in four games.
5 - Musket Fire
Dom Dwyer has three goals in five career matches against New England, with all three goals coming in his last three games against the Revs. Dwyer scored in Sporting KCās 3-2 loss to New England on Sept. 26, 2014 and again in Sportingās 4-2 win on May 20, 2015. Dwyer scored SKCās only goal in a 3-1 loss on Oct. 1, 2016.
Giles Barnes and Cyle Larin each have two goals against New England - Barnes in eight games, Larin in four. Will Johnson has one goal and two assists in 12 career games against New England, while KakaĢ has a goal and assist and Rivas has a goal. Dillon Powers and Rafael Ramos each have an assist.
6 - Mass Connections
Orlando City defender Kevin Alston played seven seasons with New England before being selected by Orlando City in the 2015 Re-Entry Draft. Alston made 155 regular and postseason appearances with New England from 2009 to 2015 and was voted the Revs best defender in 2010. Alston then made 21 starts among 24 appearances with City in 2016.
Lions homegrown goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar is from Salem, Mass., roughly an hour north of Gillette Stadium.
7 - Triple Doubles
Cyle Larin scored his 10th goal of the season last week against Vancouver, giving him his third consecutive double-digit goal season. Larin is one of six current players in MLS to have recorded double-digit goals every year since 2015, joining Sebastian Giovinco, David Villa, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Chris Wondolowski and Jozy Altidore. At just 22 years old, the 2015 MLS Rookie of the Year is the youngest player to have accomplished that feat.
