Orlando City B vs Toronto FC II: Preview and How to Watch

Orlando City B (0-5-2, 2 points) returns to the field tonight as the Young Lions host Toronto FC II (2-1-1, 7 points) at Montverde Academy. It will be the second time the two teams have faced off this season as OCB remains in search of its first win.

OCB’s early struggles continued last week as they visited North Texas SC for the second time in three weeks. After narrowly losing the first match-up between the two sides, with the help of a Matheus Silva own goal, the Young Lions were beaten up in the second half on Saturday afternoon, losing 4-1. The game saw the return of forward William Bagrou, who had missed the previous three games after suffering a concussion. The 22-year-old scored the game’s first goal — his first of the season — to give the Lions the lead. While he went off injured with a hamstring injury, he’ll be available for selection tonight.

The key for OCB recording its first win tonight will be getting shots on target. The Young Lions currently lead the league with 95 shots, but only 28 have been on target. Their goal total of four and shooting accuracy of 40.6% both place them at the bottom of the league. The team’s 13 goals conceded leads the league, though that number was boosted by the four-goal performance by North Texas SC last week.

Toronto FC II is a similar team to OCB in that the Reds are very young as the developmental team of Toronto FC. The young Reds are led by Jordan Perruzza and Luca Petrasso, each of whom has scored a pair of goal in four games. While TFC II started the season well defensively, the team has conceded three goals in each of its last two games, resulting in a pair of losses.

This will be the second time that these two teams have faced off this season with the first coming in OCB’s second game of the season. At that point, many of the players on the field were taking part in their first professional game. That first match-up turned in the 46th minute when Emmanuel Hagan was issued his second yellow card, leaving the Young Lions with 10 men. Two minutes later, the Reds took the lead with a goal by Petrasso and Perruzza doubled their lead in the 86th minute. TFC II ended up winning, 2-0.

While it’s unknown whether Bagrou will be healthy enough to return to the starting lineup, fellow striker Ates Diouf remains sidelined with a lower back injury. The Lions will also be without the experienced Brandon John, who remains sidelined with a torn ACL.

Toronto FC II will enter this game without one of its key players as well, with Terique Mohammed suspended following a red card last week against South Georgia Tormenta FC.

Most Recent Lineups

Orlando City SC (5/11 at North Texas SC)

Juliano Chade; Randy Mendoza, Matheus Silva, Nathan Simeon, Leonardo Simas; Rafael Santos, Austin Amer, Serginho; Thiago Souza, William Bagrou, Moises Tablante.

North Texas SC (5/12 at South Georgia Tormenta FC)

Kevin Silva; Terique Mohammed, Patrick Bunk-Andersen, Julian Dunn-Johnson, Dante Campbell; Adolfo Ovalle, Noble Okello, Luca Petrasso; Griffin Dorsey, Jordan Perruzza; Jacob Shaffelburg.

How to Watch

The 7:30 p.m. kickoff from Montverde Academy can be streamed on ESPN+ domestically or YouTube internationally. For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @TheManeLand on Twitter.

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