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

Orlando City B (1-2-1, 4 points) returns to action this evening when the Young Lions travel to Wisconsin to take on Forward Madison FC (1-2-2, 5 points). The Young Lions will be looking to bounce back after a difficult loss on Tuesday night.

Two weeks ago, OCB claimed a 2-0 win over New England Revolution II, getting off to a better start than it did in its inaugural USL League One season. It followed that up with a 1-1 draw against Fort Lauderdale CF, in a game the Young Lions could’ve won. That gave the young team confidence hosting a struggling FC Tucson.

The press that was so effective early in the Fort Lauderdale game was non-existent against FC Tucson, allowing the visitors out of their own end and into the attack. Tucson opened the scoring just six minutes into the game before Moises Tablante drew a penalty and Mateo Rodas converted. However, goals in the 21st and 26th minutes put the Arizona-based team too far ahead and the Young Lions ended up falling 4-1.

Tonight, OCB will travel north to take on Forward Madison FC. It was a difficult start for Madison as the Flamingos had to start their season against last year’s USL League One finalists, North Texas SC and Greenville Triumph SC. They fell 2-1 in Texas before returning home and pulling out a 0-0 draw against Greenville.

A difficult 1-0 loss at Richmond was followed up by a 4-0 win over South Georgia Tormenta FC, the team that defeated OCB to start the season. They then came away with a 1-1 draw against the league’s most surprising team in the early season, debutantes Union Omaha.

Forward Madison has returned multiple key players from last year, including Don Smart, Eric Leonard, and Paulo Jr. But the main attacking threat on the team has been new forward Wojciech Wojcik. The 28-year-old attacker joined Madison this season from Hartford Athletic, where he played for the USL Championship side last season. The new addition leads the team with two goals in the first five games.

Setting up Wojcik has been the usual accomplices. Smart and Paulo Jr. have each tallied two assists so far this season. They also lead the team in chances created, with Smart creating eight and Paulo Jr. creating six. If OCB can maintain those two, the Young Lions will have a better chance to keep Wojcik off the score sheet.

A new addition to the team is goalkeeper Philipp Marceta, who has been the team’s number one so far this season. The Vienna, Austria native joined Madison this year from SV Heimstetten in Germany’s fourth division. So far, he’s conceded four goals in five games and has made 14 saves. However, he’s had two clean sheets this season and hasn’t conceded more than one goal since giving up two to North Texas SC in the season opener.

OCB will be looking to bounce back from a difficult performance against FC Tucson on Tuesday night. After giving up four first-half goals, the Young Lions played better in the second half. But they still struggled when it came to pressing with Tablante, Julian Kennedy, and Wilfredo Rivera.

“We need to concentrate a little bit more on our tasks and work a little bit more cohesively to press the same way we did in the first half against Fort Lauderdale,” OCB Head Coach Marcelo Neveleff said about the upcoming game.

We’ll see if they can make that adjustment this evening.

Most Recent Lineups

Forward Madison FC

Philipp Marceta, Christian Diaz, Jiro Barriga Toyama, Connor Tobin, Josiah Trimmingham, Brandon Eaton, Eric Leonard, Michael Vang, Wojciech Wojcik, Don Smart, Paulo Jr.

Orlando City B

Austin Aviza, Michael Halliday, Nick O’Callaghan, Mateo Rodas, Thomas Williams, Raul Aguilera, Julian Kennedy, Jose Quintero, Juan Pablo Monticelli, Moises Tablante, Wilfredo Rivera.

How to Watch

The 5 p.m. kickoff from Hart Park in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin can be streamed on ESPN+ domestically or on YouTube internationally. For rapid reaction and live updates, follow @TheManeLand on Twitter.

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