Orlando City B at Forward Madison FC: Preview and How to Watch

Orlando City B (3-12-4, 13 points) looks to bounce back from a tough loss when it takes on Forward Madison FC (5-7-4, 19 points) in Wisconsin tonight.

OCB was handed its worst loss of the season on Wednesday night when it fell 4-1 to South Georgia Tormenta FC. The visitors scored three goals in the first 23 minutes, all from the right side. While the Young Lions got a goal back late in the first half through Thiago Souza, it wasn’t enough as OCB fell for the seventh time in eight games.

The team was handed more adversity Thursday afternoon when it was announced that the club parted ways with Head Coach Fernando Jose De Argila Irurita. His replacement for the remainder of the season will be Robert Sibaja, the Orlando City U-19 head coach.

OCB took on Tormenta FC without three key players in William Bagrou, Randy Mendoza, and Moises Tablante. Bagrou and Mendoza were suspended after being sent off last weekend in a 1-0 loss to the Richmond Kickers and Tablante served a suspension for yellow card accumulation. While those three players will be available for this game, the team will lose another key player. Midfielder Serginho was issued a yellow card in the 64th minute Wednesday night, resulting in a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Tonight, OCB takes on a familiar foe as it travels to Wisconsin for the first time this season. Forward Madison currently sits in eighth in the USL League One standings, two spots and six points ahead of OCB, though the Wisconsin side has played three fewer games.

Madison is led offensively by Don Smart, who sits fifth in the league in goals with six, just three behind Ronaldo Dumas for the most in USL League One. He’s joined in the attack by Josiel Núñez and Paulo Jr., with the latter leading the team with four assists.

Similar to OCB, Madison has rotated goalkeepers. Brian Sylvestre has the most starts with eight, while Ryan Coulter has six and Dayne St. Clair has two.

Unlike OCB, which sits near the bottom of the league in goals scored and goals conceded, Madison is right in the middle of the table. The Flamingos have scored and conceded 21 goals this year, allowing them to claim an even goal differential.

This will be the third time that OCB and Forward Madison have faced off this season. They first met on April 19 at Montverde Academy. Koby Osei-Wusu gave the Lions the lead in the 36th minute with a penalty. The visitors responded with goals in the 58th minute by Núñez and in the 70th minute by Shaun Russell, leaving town with a 2-1 win.

Madison returned to Montverde Academy on June 7. Playing in the middle of a four-game point streak and three-game home winning streak, the Young Lions took the lead in the 23rd minute through captain Rafael Santos. Souza doubled the team’s lead later in the 63rd minute. Brian Bement got one back for the visitors in the final minute of regular time but it wasn’t enough as OCB won 2-1. That was the last time OCB won a game this season.

The Young Lions hope they can get a similar result tonight to break a three-game losing streak and win for the first time in nine games.

Most Recent Lineups

Orlando City B (7/24 vs South Georgia Tormenta FC)

Juliano Chade; Steven Hernandez, Matheus Silva, Jordan Hill, Leonardo Simas; Austin Amer; Jordan Bender, Serginho, Rafael Santos, Thiago Souza; Koby Osei-Wusu.

Forward Madison FC (7/13 vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC)

Dayne St. Clair; Christian Diaz; Connor Tobin, Wyatt Omsberg, Carter Manley; Josiel Núñez, Eric Leonard, J.C. Banks; Danny Tenorio, Abu Danladi, Paulo Jr.

How to Watch

The 8 p.m. ET kickoff from Madison, WI can be streamed on ESPN+ domestically or internationally on YouTube . For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @ManeLandSean on Twitter.

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