Orlando City Ready To Battle Real Salt Lake On Saturday

By  //  July 3, 2015

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Orlando City SC (6-6-5, 23 points) will travel west this weekend to face Real Salt Lake (5-6-7, 22 points) at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, July 4. (OC Image)

ORLANDO – Orlando City SC (6-6-5, 23 points) will travel west this weekend to face Real Salt Lake (5-6-7, 22 points) at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, July 4.

Kick-off is set for 10:00 p.m. ET.

The match, which marks the first-ever contest between both clubs, will be broadcast live on My 65 and Sun Sports. In addition, the game will be transmitted live on Real Radio 104.1 FM and La Grande 1030 AM.

“I’m sure this weekend is going to be tough for us,” said head coach Adrian Heath.

“They’re missing players, we’re missing players. You know it’s not ideal but hey, let’s get on with it. They got some really good young players the likes of Olmes Garcia, and Gil at midfield. They’ve got people that they’re really pleased about.”

Adrian Heath
Adrian Heath

“People they think are going to be good going forward. It’s not going to be easy. I know that if we don’t play well this weekend and don’t approach it from the right manner, they will have more than enough to beat us. We’re going to have to be at our game,” said Heath.

Orlando enters Saturday’s contest boasting the second best away record in Major League Soccer (3-3-2, 11 points).

Despite dropping three points in the team’s previous league match against Montreal, Orlando City has been in form, only suffering defeat twice in its past 11 matches across all competitions.

Sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, City recently defeated the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in league play at home, as both Kaká and Cyle Larin found the back of the net – continuing their excellent goal-scoring run this season.

The Brazilian’s finish marked his eighth of the season, placing him fourth in the league – behind Kei Kamara, Chris Wondolowski and Sebastian Giovinco.

Meanwhile, Larin continues to blossom in his rookie season, with the number one overall SuperDraft selection recording his sixth goal in 2015, at the age of 21.

Young Designated Player Carlos Rivas has also begun producing goals for City – an encouraging sign for the Lions.

After scoring a hat-trick against the Charleston Battery in Open Cup play, Rivas added to his tally on Tuesday night when he scored a powerful effort in the Lions’ 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in the Round of 16, moving him into a tie for the most goals scored in the Open Cup in 2015.

One of the most successful teams in MLS, the 2009 MLS Cup Champions sit in ninth place in the Western Conference.

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In its past four matches, Real Salt Lake has gone unbeaten in three of those contests, with its only defeat coming in a 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.

The team is anchored by U.S. Men’s National Team stars Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman, along with Ecuadorian forward Joao Plata.

However, the claret and cobalt have struggled to find the back of the net this season, scoring the second fewest goals in the West in 2015 (17). Javier Morales and Alvaro Saborio leads the team with three finishes each.