Orlando City B vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC: Preview and How to Watch

After a pair of 1-0 losses on the road, Orlando City B (3-11-4, 13 points) returns home tonight to welcome South Georgia Tormenta FC (7-3-5, 26 points). It will be a tall task for the last-place Young Lions to claim points as Tormenta enters in second place and is fighting for a home playoff game.

The last time OCB was at home, Tresor Mbuyu netted an equalizer in the dying moments to draw 1-1 with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. That’s the last goal the Young Lions have scored as they were shut out in both of their most recent road games, a 1-0 loss to Greenville Triumph SC and a 1-0 loss to the Richmond Kickers. It won’t get any easier tonight as they face the best defensive team in the league.

Considering OCB’s offensive struggles, it will be a tough task for the Young Lions to score tonight. Tormenta FC hasn’t been much of a threat offensively this season, but has been fantastic defensively. Their nine clean sheets this season leads the league and their 12 goals conceded is the fewest in USL League One. Much of this is because of the stellar play of their goalkeeper, Pablo Jara. The Chile native is on pace to claim the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year award.

The Tormenta defense is anchored by two of the league’s best defenders in Joshua Phelps and William Antley, who both have 29 interceptions this year. Offensively, the team is led by Marco Micaletto, who has scored a team-leading four goals. He’s followed by Antley and Alex Morrell who have each scored three times. Another attacking player to watch out for will be Charlie Dennis, who has created a team-leading 31 chances this season.

This will be the third and final time that OCB and Tormenta FC face off this season. The teams first met on April 14 at Montverde Academy. A 59th-minute goal by Ates Diouf appeared to be enough for OCB to claim its first three points in a downpour, but it wasn’t to be. In the dying moments, a long free kick found the head of Lars Eckenrode, who put it past Juliano Chade for the equalizer. The two teams met again on June 15 in Statesboro, GA. While OCB possessed the ball for almost 60% of the game, that didn’t turn into chances as the Lions were out-shot 16-9 in a 2-0 loss.

Both teams will be shorthanded when they face off tonight. Tormenta FC will be without midfielder Nil Vinyals as he was given a straight red card in the 74th minute in a scoreless draw against North Texas SC Saturday night. OCB will be without three players for this game. William Bagrou and Randy Mendoza were sent off during a scuffle in the 83rd minute against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday. Additionally, Moises Tablante is suspended tonight for yellow card accumulation. This will have a larger impact on OCB as Bagrou and Mendoza are two of the elder players and team leaders for a young group.

Most Recent Lineups

Orlando City B (7/20 at Richmond Kickers)

Christian Herrera; Leonardo Simas, Jordan Hill, Matheus Silva, Randy Mendoza; Austin Amer; Moises Tablante, Ates Diouf, Rafael Santos, Jordan Bender; William Bagrou.

South Georgia Tormenta FC (7/20 at North Texas SC)

Pablo Jara; William Antley, Joshua Phelps, Daltyn Knutson, Jerry Saint-Vil; Ricardo Gomez, Nil Vinyals; Marco Michaletto, Lucas Coutinho, Alex Morrell; Charlie Dennis.

How to Watch

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

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