Orlando City B at FC Tucson: Preview and How to Watch

After going winless through the first seven games of the season, Orlando City B (2-5-2, 8 points) has won its last two. Tonight, the Young Lions will travel to Arizona for the first time, where they will take on FC Tucson (3-4-1, 10 points).

Losing five of its first seven games, OCB appeared to be at its lowest point when the team fell 4-1 to North Texas SC on May 11. Rather than allowing that loss to negatively impact the upcoming games, they’ve managed to turn their season around, defeating Toronto FC II and the Richmond Kickers in back-to-back games.

On the attacking end, the Young Lions have been led by Moises Tablante and Thiago Souza, both having scored in those two games. While Souza scored both of his goals on penalties, Serginho assisted on both of Tablante’s before converting a long-range strike of his own that resulted in the midfielder being awarded the USL League One Goal of the Week.

FC Tucson has been a different team at home this season than away from home. While they have only lost one game at Kino Sports Complex, falling to the Lansing Ignite in April, their lone win away from home came in the season’s opening game against OCB. The team has been led this season by Devyn Jambga, who has scored three goals in seven appearances, with two of those goals coming in a 4-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC two weeks ago.

The player with the best strike rate has been Devin Vega. In just three appearances, he’s had three shots and two goals. When it comes to creating chances, Jamael Cox has been the most dangerous going forward for tonight’s opposition, making him someone to keep an eye on.

This is the second time that these two teams will face off this season. They opened the season against each other at Montverde Academy in March with the visitors winning, 3-1. FC Tucson took the early lead in that game when Guillermo Delgado gave his side the opening goal in the 22nd minute. The biggest moment of the game came just before halftime when Randy Mendoza was sent off for a dangerous challenge. Zach Wright scored shortly after, making it 2-0 at the half. A third goal in the 54th minute by Delgado was too much for the Young Lions to come back from, despite Koby Osei-Wusu responding in the 56th minute when an individually created goal.

The last time these two teams faced off, OCB was a new team with a brand new roster of players that had never played in a game together. Tonight, the Young Lions are coming off a two-game winning streak and have had the exact same lineup on the field of the past three games. This game will also be the first that forward Ates Diouf is available since departing on April 19 with back spasms.

While this is the fifth time in three seasons that OCB has won back-to-back games, the Lions have never won three straight — either in the team’s original incarnation or since re-emerging in USL League One. In addition to winning their first away game of the season, a victory tonight would allow the Young Lions to make some team history by extending a streak to three wins for the first time.

This game might also feature a former Orlando City player facing the club for the first time. After being drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, Scott DeVoss was cut by the club during preseason before catching on with FC Tucson. He didn’t make the trip to Montverde for the first game but has played three games this season and could appear tonight.

Most Recent Lineups

Orlando City B (5/22 vs Richmond Kickers)

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

FC Tucson (5/24 at Toronto FC II)

Phillip Ejimadu; Terrón, Kyle Venter, Kody Wakasa,Luke Hauswirth; Karsten Hanlin, Zach Colin Stirpling; Devyn Jambga, Guillermo Delgado, Zach Wright; Jordan Jones.

How to Watch

The 10:30 p.m. kickoff from Kino Sports Complex in Tucson can be streamed on ESPN+ domestically or internationally on YouTube. For rapid reaction and live updates, following @TheManeLand on Twitter.

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