Orlando City SC has come out of the World Cup break on a bit of a roll.
The Lions routed San Jose 4-0 and toppled Eastern Conference leaders Nashville 1-0 last week in their return to MLS action. Now, they head to the greater New York area looking to make it three in a row.
The Lions (6-9-2, 20 points) visit Red Bull New York (6-7-4, 22 points) at Sports Illustrated Stadium, in Harrison, New Jersey, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The two sides last faced each other to open the season Feb. 21 in Orlando, a 2-1 victory for New York. It was a foreshadow of the difficult start to the season for the Lions, who lost five of their first six matches, and saw longtime coach Oscar Pareja depart. With its two-match victory streak, though, Orlando City sits just two points behind their conference rivals. A win over New York would push the Lions past the Red Bulls and into a playoff position.
“We know them. They know us. They are an intense team,” Orlando interim head coach Martín Perelman said. “It’s always hard to go on the road, and we’re gonna prepare ourselves the best as possible to compete, and we will try to win the game because at the end of the day, it’s what we look for.”
International star Antoine Griezmann has elevated the team’s attack, scoring in his MLS debut against the Earthquakes — one of four Lions to score in that match. Justin Ellis, the 19-year-old homegrown forward, has three assists in the two games, including one on Tyrese Spicer’s game-winner against Nashville. Iván Angulo, David Brekalo and Braian Ojeda also scored at San Jose.
Orlando has also posted back-to-back shutouts after conceding in 31 straight regular-season matches. Maxime Crépeau made seven saves against San Jose and three more against Nashville before appearing in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game, where he had six saves in 30 minutes in the 4-3 victory over the All-Stars from Mexico’s Liga MX.
Defender Bernardo Rhein made his first MLS start against Nashville, another young player the club is developing.
“We’re all motivated. We all know that San Jose and Nashville are pretty big teams. But we have confidence in ourselves,” Rhein said. “We know what we’re capable of, and that’s to go out there and compete and win. So every day, we’re just trying to strive to be better in practice, so we can go in games and just work.”
New York has lost both its matches since the World Cup break, falling 3-1 at Philadelphia and 2-0 to Charlotte at home. The Red Bulls have won just three of their last 11 home matches, with six losses and two draws.
Head coach Michael Bradley has given significant minutes to young players like forward Julian Hall, who leads the club with nine goals, and 17-year-old midfielder Adri Mehmeti. Mehmeti will miss Saturday’s match after receiving a red card against Charlotte.
After the trip to New York, Orlando City begins Leagues Cup play against CF Monterrey at Inter.co Stadium on Wednesday.