Orlando City (1-0) vs Charlotte FC (0-1) (MLS Cup Playoffs)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: Real Radio 104.1, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' away playoff match on Friday night at Charlotte FC in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Facundo Torres already became Orlando City’s all-time leading goalscorer earlier this year. After scoring against Charlotte in Game 1 on Sunday, Torres now holds the record for the most goals in a single season for the club with 19, topping Cyle Larin’s 18-goal 2015 campaign. Torres’ next goal will make him the first Lion to score 20 goals in a single season.
- At 25 assists, Torres is one helper from tying Nani for second in club history.
- Iván Angulo is up to 12 assists in 2024 after providing the ball for Martín Ojeda’s goal on Sunday. Angulo is now one assist behind Ojeda and Nicolás Lodeiro for both the team lead and the club single-season record, and he’s also level with Ojeda for fifth in club history at 23 career assists. Ojeda and Angulo are both one assist away from tying Chris Mueller for fourth on the all-time chart.
- Ojeda’s next start will be his 50th for Orlando City in all competitions.
- Robin Jansson is three appearances away from becoming the first Lion ever to reach 200 career appearances in all competitions.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City put together a masterful performance in Game 1 on Sunday night, comfortably brushing Charlotte FC aside in a dominant 2-0 home win. The victory moved Orlando to 3-0-0 with three clean sheets in the Best of 3 First Round.
- The game was also the first MLS Cup Playoffs match in which Orlando scored multiple goals, continuing 2024’s historic attacking trend. City has now scored multiple goals in 15 of its last 18 MLS games, including playoffs.
- Orlando City is 1-2-0 in three MLS Cup Playoffs away games all-time, picking up its first road victory in Nashville last fall, when Iván Angulo sixth-minute opener held up the rest of the way in a 1-0 victory that finished off a first round sweep for the Lions. City was knocked out on the road in 2021 (Nashville) and 2022 (Montréal), but does not face elimination on Friday night thanks to the Game 1 win on Sunday.
- Orlando City was once again one of the best away teams in MLS in 2024, finishing 8-6-3 away from Inter&Co Stadium in 2024, trailing only the top three teams in the Eastern Conference in points picked up away from home.
- Facundo Torres scored his first MLS Cup Playoffs goal on Sunday night, marking the fifth competition in which Torres has netted for the Lions – the MLS regular season (37 goals), the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (4), CONCACAF Champions Cup (3), Leagues Cup (1), and now the MLS Cup Playoffs (1).
- Following Sunday night, the Lions are 8-1-3 with a +20 goal difference in their last 12 home games dating back to June 22. Orlando is averaging 2.25 goals per home match in that stretch, including 2.6 goals per match against MLS opposition.
Series History
All-time vs. Charlotte FC - 4-2-2, +4 GD (1-1-2, 0 GD away)
MLS only vs. Charlotte FC - 2-1-2, +1 GD (1-0-2, +1 GD away)
2022 - W 2-1 (H), W 1-2 (A)
2023 - L 1-2 (H), L 1-0 (A/USOC), D 1-1 (A)
2024 - D 2-2 (A), W 2-0 (H), W 2-0 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
Meet the opponent: Charlotte FC
- Orlando City has never lost in three trips to Bank of America Stadium, scoring in the final 10 minutes to earn the final result in all three matches. Tesho Akindele scored an 89th minute winner in the Lions’ first trip to the Queen City in 2022, while Martín Ojeda (88’, 2023) and Facundo Torres (81’, 2024) have scored late on to pick up a point in each of the last two years.
- Orlando did lose once away against Charlotte, in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, but that game was played at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in nearby Matthews, NC rather than at the NFL stadium.
- Charlotte had a strong year at home, going 9-3-6 at Bank of America Stadium in 2024 and closing the campaign with three straight home victories. Friday night will mark the first home playoff match in Charlotte FC history.
- The big news for Charlotte coming out of Game 1 is the suspension of DP No. 10 Pep Biel, who was sent off late in the match for kicking out at Robin Jansson after a challenge. Biel is on loan through the 2024 season from Olympiacos in Greece and, should Orlando finish off a sweep on Friday night, could potentially end his Charlotte career with that red card.
- Sunday night marked just the third time this year that Charlotte FC lost a match with former Orlando City midfielder Júnior Urso in the starting lineup. The Crown is 7-3-2 when Urso starts and 7-10-8 when he doesn’t. Sunday was Charlotte’s first loss in an Urso start since April 27.
