Orlando City B
Orlando City B at Harrisburg City Islanders: Match Preview and How To Watch
It wasn't quite a gorilla, but OCB will be walking around a little more briskly after shedding that monkey from its back.
For the first time in history, Orlando City B (1-3-1, 4 points) took home all three points on Friday night on the road at Pittsburgh, and the young Lions will be looking to try to roll the momentum into a second road victory in four days when they visit Harrisburg (1-3-0, 3 points) tonight at 7 p.m. for a second meeting with the City Islanders in 10 days.
Playing at right back, Orlando City HGP Tyler Tuner was the star with a two-goal performance in the Steel City. The first came in the 39th minute as the result of a two-man game with Jonathan Mendoza, while the second came in the 67th minute when Turner got on the end of a Hadji Barry cross. Barry, the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft, played about 17 minutes in the senior team’s loss at New York last night and will likely not be available.
Since beating OCB last weekend, Harrisburg lost to Louisville City in the City Islanders' first home game of the season this past Friday night. After falling behind by two goals, Harrisburg climbed back into the game with two second-half scores, and equalized in the 88th minute, only to see Louisville's Mark-Anthony Kaye score in stoppage time to steal a point away.
Last Week's Lineups
OCB: Mark Ridgers, Tyler Turner, Kyle Callan-McFadden, Devron Garcia, Mikey Ambrose, Richie Laryea, Tony Rocha, Harrison Heath, Jonathan Mendoza, Bryan Rochez, Hadji Barry*
Harrisburg: Nick Noble, Bobby Warshaw, Jose Barril, Paul Wilson, Liam Doyle, James Thomas, Cardel Benbow, Mouhamed Dabo, Craig Foster, Shawn McLaws, Dante Leverock
*Barry likely isn't available tonight as he was recalled to the senior team
Keys to Victory
- Avoid Fatigue: Having two games scheduled so closely to each other is just part and parcel of playing in the USL, but avoiding tired legs will be paramount to victory tonight in Pennsylvania. With two games in four days, OCB has about as close to a "back-to-back" as you can get in soccer. For its part, Harrisburg is also playing on short rest, though the City Islanders definitely have the better end of the deal between the two. Having played on Friday night, OCB had to use a rest day to make the six-plus hour, 206-mile trek from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, while the City Islanders had the luxury of staying home.
- More from you, Tyler: Assuming the 19-year-old plays tonight — which is hardly a given considering the team's short rest — getting another positive performance from Tyler Turner will be welcomed by Anthony Pulis. While scoring twice as a defender should be considered more a surprise than something to be counted upon, consistency from Turner is likely a major goal for this coaching staff. That Homegrown Player label comes with expectation and pressure, so let's see if Turner can log back-to-back strong performances.
- Get off on the right foot (again): OCB was the first to score in both of its road games so far. While Friday night ended in delight for the young Lions, the other instance proved to be an anomaly in what became a road thumping at the hands of Louisville. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if OCB can start off just as strongly in its third effort from the visiting locker room.