ORLANDO, Fla. (May 6, 2018) – Orlando City SC (6-2-1, 19 points) scored three unanswered goals in the second half to defeat Real Salt Lake (3-5-1, 10 points) 3-1 on Sunday at Orlando City Stadium. Defender Lamine Sané scored his first goal as a Lion and goalkeeper Joe Bendik made a season-high eight saves as City won a Club-record sixth straight game.
“Obviously another afternoon or evening that I’m really, really pleased. Really pleased with the players’ mentality and their character,” Lions head coach Jason Kreis said. “It says a lot that we can continue to come back from difficult situations, being a goal down in the first half after I thought we started so incredibly brightly. It was difficult for the guys. In the beginning of the second half there were some difficulties again, but we continued to push, we continued to believe, we continued to stay together and we get the result I think in the end we deserved.”
Real Salt Lake opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Damir Kreilach put Corey Baird in behind for a chip into the back of the net. City dominated possession the remainder of the half, taking 10 shots and earning five corners.
The Lions got on the board in the 61st minute. Sacha Kljestan raced up the pitch before pulling up and chipping it for Dom Dwyer to head into the back of the net. It was Dwyer’s sixth goal in six appearances in 2018 and Kljestan’s fourth assist of the season.
City took the lead three minutes later following an incredible sequence. Baird was in alone but Bendik made a leaping kick save. The Lions quickly regained the ball, pushed up the pitch and earned a corner kick. Yoshimar Yotún curled an in-swinger to Sané for the eventual game-winner.
Yotún scored his third goal of the season and his second in as many games when he blasted Dwyer’s rebound into the net. Yotún now has two goals and three assists in his last three games.
The match saw Chris Schuler make his Club debut. Schuler was signed on March 2 after playing eight seasons at Real Salt Lake. It was City’s fourth come-from-behind victory during its six-game winning streak. City’s six consecutive wins are the most by any team in MLS this season.
The Lions return to Orlando City Stadium on Sunday, May 13, to host Atlanta United FC at 6 p.m. ET.
Tickets to all City home matches are available at OrlandoCitySC.com or by calling 855-ORL-CITY.
Match Notes
- D Lamine Sané scored his first goal as a Lion.
- GK Joe Bendik’s eight saves tie GK Tally Hall for second-most in a single match in Club history. Hall made eight saves at Seattle on Aug. 16, 2015. Bendik holds the Club record of 10 saves from May 15, 2016.
- M Cristian Higuita made his 78th career MLS, appearance, tying F Carlos Rivas for 2nd-most all-time MLS appearances for City. GK Joe Bendik made his 76th MLS appearance for City, tying M Kaká for 3rd-most all-time MLS appearances for City.
- M Yoshimar Yotún scored and earned the game-winning assist. Yotún now has two goals and three assists in his last three games.
- D Chris Schuler started the match and made his Orlando City debut. Schuler played eight seasons for RSL before signing with City on March 2.
- F Dom Dwyer became the second Lion ever to score six goals in his first six appearances to begin a season. F Cyle Larin scored six in six games to begin 2017. Dwyer has seven goals in his last seven appearances dating to 2017.
- Orlando City improves to 2-0-2 all-time against Real Salt Lake and 1-0-1 in Orlando.
- This was Orlando City’s fourth come-from-behind win during its six-game winning streak.
- The match was the first to be streamed live on YouTube TV as part of the partnership announced on Thursday.
Scoring Summary:
RSL - Corey Baird (Damir Kreilach) 12’
ORL - Dom Dwyer (Sacha Kljestan) 61’
ORL - Lamine Sané (Yoshimar Yotún) 64’
ORL - Yoshimar Yotún 78’
Misconduct Summary:
ORL - Joe Bendik (Yellow Card) 51’
ORL - Mohamed El-Munir (Yellow Card) 60’
ORL - Cristian Higuita (Yellow Card) 74’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC - GK Joe Bendik, D Mohamed El-Munir, Chris Schuler, Lamine Sané, Will Johnson, M Yoshimar Yotún (Uri Rosell 81’), Cristian Higuita, Justin Meram (RJ Allen 88’), ⓒ Sacha Kljestan, Chris Mueller (Stéfano Pinho 73’), F Dom Dwyer
Substitutes Not Used: GK Earl Edwards, Jr., D Donny Toia, M Dillon Powers, PC
Real Salt Lake - GK Nick Rimando, D Pablo Ruiz (Sebastian Saucedo 82’), Nick Besler, Justen Glad, Brooks Lennon, M Damir Kreilach, Albert Rusnak, Kyle Beckerman, F Joao Plata, Corey Baird (Luis Silva 79’), Jefferson Savarino
Substitutes Not Used: GK Connor Sparrow, D Adam Henley, Aaron Herrera, M Sunny, F Ricky Lopez-Espin
Details of the Game:
Time: 5 p.m. ET
Weather: Clear
Date: May 6, 2018
Attendance: 23,258
Stats:
Possession:
ORL - 52.7 %
RSL - 47.3 %
Shots:
ORL - 20
RSL - 16
Saves:
ORL - 8
RSL - 3
Fouls:
ORL - 11
RSL - 9
Corners:
ORL - 9
RSL - 6
