Orlando City B’s Inaugural Regular Season Schedule Released by USL

Orlando City B will open its inaugural USL season at its new home at Titan Soccer Complex on Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. against Wilmington Hammerheads FC. The league released its 2016 schedule today, and now we know when, where and against whom Anthony Pulis' OCB squad will take to the pitch for its 30 regular season games. The 2016 USL regular season will be 27 weeks long, kicking off on March 25 and concluding on Sept. 25.

The first road game will be a purple Battle Royale with former Orlando City USL affiliate Louisville City FC at Louisville Slugger Field on April 1. Three of OCB's first four matches are at home and there's a run of seven straight home games from May 1 through June 5. The reserve Lions will finish the season with four consecutive road matches, finishing the 2016 regular season on Sept. 25 at Bethlehem Steel FC.

The full season breakdown has OCB playing 13 Saturday games, eight Sundays, five Wednesdays, three Fridays and one Tuesday, with no games on Mondays or Thursdays. Of those, the club has home games one Wednesday and two Fridays, with the remaining 12 matches on either Saturday (7) or Sunday (5). It's a very favorable schedule for families.

Orlando City B will play five matches in each month of the season except March (1) and June (4). All five matches in May are at home in Melbourne, with three of those five games taking place in a seven-day span on May 1, 4, and 7.

As far as conflicts with the senior team, there appear to be only three. On Wednesday, July 13 both teams play away at 7:30 p.m., with the Lions at New York Red Bulls and OCB at Charleston. On Wednesday, Sept. 7, both teams again play away, with City at Montreal Impact (time TBD) and OCB at Wilmington at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 17, Orlando City hosts Columbus Crew SC at 7:30 p.m. while the reserves are in Ohio to face Cincinnati (time TBD).

The USL competes in a two-conference format, with 14 teams in the Eastern Conference and 15 teams in the Western Conference.

Joining Orlando City B in the East are defending league champion Rochester Rhinos, along with former Lions affiliate Louisville City FC, Bethlehem Steel FC, Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, FC Cincinnati, Harrisburg City Islanders, FC Montreal, New York Red Bulls II, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, Toronto FC II, and Wilmington Hammerheads FC.

The team with the best record across both conferences will earn the 2016 Regular Season Title. The top eight teams in each conference will advance to the 2016 USL playoffs, in a single-elimination bracket to crown the two conference champions. The two conference champions will then advance to the 2016 USL Championship, which will be hosted by the team with the better regular-season record.

Orlando City B is one of six new USL clubs in 2016. Other newbies include Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati, Rio Grande Valley FC, the Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio.

Check out the full schedule listing below or go here.

(Home games in bold.)