Orlando City (7-8-7, 27 points) at New England Revolution (7-12-1, 22 points)
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
TV: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (Free)
Radio: 96.9 the Game FM, (English), Mega 97.1 (Spanish)
Everything you need to know for the Lions' Saturday night match vs New England Revolution in "The Road Ahead" driven by Audi:
Milestones
- Facundo Torres’ next assist (his 23rd) will put him past Kaká for sole possession of fourth in club history. Torres is two assists away from tying Chris Mueller for third.
- Duncan McGuire stands sixth in Orlando City history with 23 goals. His next goal would see him equal Dom Dwyer for fifth all-time, and a brace would tie him with Kaká in fourth.
- Rodrigo Schlegel and Kyle Smith’s next starts will each be their 100th in all competitions for Orlando City.
Stats & Storylines
- Orlando City’s attack has reached historic highs in the past few weeks. The Lions have scored 15 goals in their past five matches, their most in a five-game span in the club’s MLS history. The Lions’ previous five-game best was 14 goals, set from March 31-April 29, 2018. That 2018 team scored 17 goals in six games including their next match on May 3, meaning Orlando will need to put three past New England on Saturday to break the six-game record.
- The offensive turnaround has been remarkable – the Lions scored 17 goals in their first 17 MLS regular season matches this year before scoring 15 in the last five.
- With three wins in their past four matches, Orlando City has ascended from 14th to 7th in the Eastern Conference in just two weeks. The top seven teams in the table automatically qualify for the Best-of-3 First Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, while the eighth and ninth placed teams face off in a Wild Card elimination game.
- Martín Ojeda has contributed to a goal in each of his three matches since entering the starting XI on June 28, notching two goals and an assist. For his career, Ojeda has 10 G/15 A in just under 3500 minutes with Orlando City.
- Facundo Torres continued his summer tear on Saturday, scoring a goal and picking up two secondary assists. Torres has 4 G/3 A in his past five games. Playing in front of Legends Terrace inductee Kaká, Torres tied the former captain in career assists for the Lions at 22 and surpassed the Brazilian icon with his 11th multi-goal contribution game, a new club record.
- Starting his club-record 175th career game for the Lions, Robin Jansson scored his first goal in more than two years and the sixth of his Orlando City career. Jansson played a nearly perfect game against D.C. United, completing all but one of his 35 passes, winning five of his six duels, completing two dribbles, and winning the ball back five times.
- Wilder Cartagena was all over the field on Saturday. The Peruvian picked up an assist on Jansson’s goal while completing 95% of his 78 passes, creating two chances, and winning two tackles. Orlando City has allowed just one goal in the two games since Cartagena returned from international duty with Peru after conceding 10 in the four matches he missed during Copa América.
- Orlando City striker Duncan McGuire, who picked up an assist in Saturday’s win, was named to the United States Olympic roster for the 2024 games in Paris. The U.S. has not qualified for the Olympics since Beijing 2008. McGuire and the Americans kick off their tournament against host nation France on July 24.
Series History
All-time vs. New England - 4-8-7, -11 GD (0-6-2, -15 GD away)
MLS only vs. New England - 3-7-7, -10 GD (0-6-2, -15 GD away)
2015 - D 2-2 (H), L 3-0 (A)
2016 - D 2-2 (H), D 2-2 (A), W 3-1 (H)
2017 - L 4-0 (A), W 6-1 (H)
2018 - D 3-3 (H), L 2-0 (A)
2019 - W 2-1 a.e.t. (H/USOC), L 4-1 (A), D 3-3 (H)
2020 - L 1-3 (H/MLS Cup Playoffs)
2021 - L 2-1 (A), D 2-2 (H)
2022 - D 1-1 (A), L 0-3 (H)
2023 - L 3-1 (A), W 3-2 (H)
Meet the opponent: New England Revolution
- No building in MLS has given Orlando City more problems over the past decade than Gillette Stadium. The Lions have not won in eight matches on Patriot Place, their most games at any venue in MLS without a victory. Orlando has scored just six goals while conceding 21 in the eight games at Gillette.
- City was able to snap an eight-game, four-year winless drought against the Revs last October 7 with a 3-2 victory at Inter&Co Stadium. Duncan McGuire, Facundo Torres, and Iván Angulo all scored first half goals, overcoming a Carles Gil brace to send the Lions to their third straight of what would be a team record-tying six wins in a row.
- As he has done to many teams, Gil has terrorized Orlando since arriving in MLS in 2019. The Argentine playmaker and former MLS MVP has six goals and eight assists in 10 career games against the Lions, scoring three times against City in 2023. Gil has missed the Revs’ past two games with a lower leg injury, and his status for this weekend is currently unknown.
- McGuire scored in each of his two appearances against New England last year, getting the Lions’ lone road goal against the Revs in 2023 while also netting in the home game.
- Nicolás Lodeiro has two goals and two assists in just three MLS matches against the Revolution. Iván Angulo has also performed well against New England, scoring a goal and adding two assists in three games.
- After a historically poor start to the 2024 campaign, the Revs and first-year head coach Caleb Porter have resuscitated their season, winning five of the last seven to pull within two points of the playoff line. Even with their recent success, New England is dead last in MLS with just 20 goals scored. The Revs have already lost six home games this year, their most in a season since their Wooden Spoon campaign in 2011.
- Beyond Gil (5 G/6 A), the Revs have been led by striker Giacomo Vrioni, who has seven goals on the year and five in his past five appearances, including braces on June 22 against FC Cincinnati and on July 3 vs. Atlanta United.
