Orlando City vs. Memphis 901 FC, U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Match Thread, and More

Welcome to your match thread for a U.S. Open Cup match-up between Orlando City and Memphis 901 FC. It’s the first ever meeting between these two clubs in this or any other competition.

Orlando is entering the competition in Round 4. Memphis entered the tournament in Round 2 and has yet to lose. The USL Championship side played its way past New York Red Bulls U-23 by a 3-1 score. Orlando City loanee Cam Lindley scored one goal and assisted on another in the win for Memphis. In Round 3, Memphis drew Hartford Athletic and won even bigger, 4-0. Jochen Graf scored a brace to lead Memphis to its second win.

History

Orlando City is 11-8-2 all-time in U.S. Open Cup play and 3-4-2 in the competition since joining MLS. The two draws were followed by penalty shootout wins, so Orlando has a decent record overall in the tournament but has never advanced past the quarterfinals — a round the Lions have reached three times (2013, 2015, and 2018).

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Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup History

As mentioned previously, Memphis is in its first season and, as such, has never lost a USOC match (2-0-0). This is the third straight round that Memphis has played at home in the tournament, playing on its home grounds of AutoZone Park in Round 2 and winning again at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Round 3. Tonight’s match will be at Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

Memphis 901 FC Head Coach Tim Mulqueen is a former Orlando City goalkeeping coach, so you know he’ll want to win tonight’s game.

Overview

The Lions are 2-3-2 away from home this season, all in MLS play. Memphis is 0-4-2 at home in USL Championship matches, but 2-0-0 in the U.S. Open Cup, including 1-0-0 at tonight’s venue.

Orlando is missing several players due to international call-ups who might otherwise have been in tonight’s lineup. With the Gold Cup less than a week away, the Lions are without Kamal Miller, Will Johnson, Greg Ranjitsingh, and Danilo Acosta. Also missing is Sebas Mendez, who has been called in to Ecuador’s Copa America squad, as well as Benji Michel, who got a U-23 USMNT call. Josué Colmán is in Paraguay, reportedly set to join Cerro Porteno on loan.

With Dom Dwyer (hamstring) in recovery, the Lions are stretched a bit thin, and I think some starters will have to play and sit the bench tonight who otherwise might have been left home. With the international rules of the tournament in effect, I’d expect someone like Robin Jansson to maybe be the guy left out of the team sheet.

Ruan was training off to the side on Monday, but social media pictures seemed to indicate that both he and Carlos Ascues made the trip to Memphis, along with Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, Uri Rosell, and Lamine Sané

Memphis’ offense has been spread out, with Elliot Collier, Duane Muckette, and Marc Burch all tied on two goals in USL games and no one having more than one league assist. Graf and Joshua Morton each have two USOC goals to their credit this year. Burch scored from the penalty spot in the last Memphis Cup outing.

With so many variables I’m not going to project a starting XI tonight, but check back before the match as we’ll post the official lineups as soon as they’re available.

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-3-3)

GK: Adam Grinwis.

Defenders: Alex De John, Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, Shane O’Neill.

Midfielders: Cristian Higuita, Sacha Kljestan, Dillon Powers.

Forwards: Chris Mueller, Santiago Patino, Tesho Akindele.

Bench: Brian Rowe, Randy Mendoza, Ruan, Carlos Ascues, Uri Rosell.

Memphis 901 FC (4-4-2)

GK: Scott Levene.

Defenders: Abdi Mohamed, Marc Burch, Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, Wesley Charpie.

Midfielders: Adam Najem, Ewan Grandison, Dan Metzger, Lagos Kunga.

Forwards: Elliot Collier, Jochen Graf.

Bench: Jeff Caldwell, Joshua Morton, Todd Pratzner, Luca Uccello, Louis Bennett, Morgan Hackworth, Oliver White.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8:30 p.m. ET.

Venue: Mike Rose Soccer Complex — Memphis, TN.

TV: None.

Streaming: ESPN+.

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City's official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Match Thread Rules

This is your live thread for posting comments on the match. So use our comments section below to talk about the game in real time with other supporters. If you’re new, welcome to our happy home! While you’re here, please observe a few basic rules:

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Enjoy the match! Go City!

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