ORLANDO – July 10, 2015 – Orlando City SC (6-6-6, 24 points) will face Western Conference side F.C. Dallas (8-5-5, 29 points) on Saturday, July 11, marking the first meeting between both teams this season. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from the Orlando Citrus Bowl.
Tickets for the game are available and can be purchased by visiting www.OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY. In addition, the fixture will broadcast live on MY65 and Sun Sports. The game will also be transmitted on Real Radio 104.1 FM and in Spanish on La Grande 1030 AM.
"They're a very dynamic team but they've also had some inconsistent results," said Adrian Heath. "When they're good, they're very, very good and then they've had some results that you scratch your head at. But they have a lot of dynamic, attacking players, and I think that concentration is going to be huge on the weekend, certainly when we have the ball.”
Currently sitting in third place in the East, Orlando enters the game against Dallas after earning a strong away point in the team's 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 4, despite playing with 10 men for the entire second half.
For the first time all season, the Lions will be without Brazilian playmaker Kaká who received a controversial red card toward the end of the first half after scoring his ninth goal of the 2015 campaign in the fifth minute of play. Heath will also miss the services of Cyle Larin and Darwin Cerén, who are currently with their respective national teams Canada and El Salvador for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
However, the Lions have only suffered defeat twice in its past 12 league matches, as the team continues to compile positive results in its expansion campaign. At home, in particular, Orlando is unbeaten in its past seven matches, creating a fortress at the Citrus Bowl for City.
Saturday's fixture will signify the second time Orlando City has faced F.C. Dallas in Club history. Both teams previously met in 2011 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Toyota Stadium. Although former Lions' midfielder and current Academy coach Yordany Alvarez leveled the score-line in the 90th minute with a powerful volley, Dallas managed to score in the final minute of the game to win 3-2.
After a strong start to the season, Dallas has produced mixed results as of late, winning twice in its past six league matches - most recently defeating the New England Revolution 3-0 at Toyota Stadium. In the Texas-based club's previous away match, Dallas suffered a harrowing 6-2 defeat to Sporting KC.
Similar to Orlando City, F.C. Dallas will miss also key players due to the Gold Cup, as Kyle Bekker, Tesho Akindele, Blas Perez, Moises Hernandez and Je-Vaughn Watson will be unavailable for selection.
Nevertheless, Fabian Castillo, one of the most dynamic players in Major League Soccer, will be available. The Colombian currently leads the team in goals (7), shots (46) and shots on goal (18.)
