Orlando City is back at home Saturday trying to earn a win against second-year club San Diego FC in the first meeting between the teams.
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Kickoff at Inter.co Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m. The Lions settled for a point last weekend at Minnesota United, getting a stoppage-time goal from Tyrese Spicer to claim a 3-3 draw after blowing a 2-0 lead.
Orlando City is 7-11-4 with 25 points, good for ninth in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference standings. San Diego FC is 8-8-6 with 30 points and sits ninth in the Western Conference table.
“Every game is important, and especially with some of those games that got away from us in the second half, that cost us some results,” Orlando forward Martin Ojeda said. “Everything coming up is important, so we’re ready.”
Ojeda made his return from injury against Minnesota. He missed 10 matches, but his continued return to form should help the Lions in the attack. Antoine Griezmann has been as good as advertised, with seven goal contributions in league play (four goals and three assists) since joining the club, but Ojeda adds another element that will force teams to play more defensively.
“I feel good and ready to get out there and can connect with Grizi, with Justin (Ellis), Daryl (Dike), Ivancho (Angulo), Tiago, and just get out there and be ready,” Ojeda added. “So continuing to connect week to week out there and support in whatever role they tap me to support here in the coming games and what’s coming ahead of us is really important.”
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Orlando City is 5-4-2 at home. Ojeda leads the fifth-ranked scoring team in the Eastern Conference with 11 goals. Orlando has scored 37 goals. Spicer is second on the team with six goals. Ellis leads the club with seven assists.
SDFC is led by Danish forward Anders Dreyer (eight goals, 10 assists) and has scored 11 goals in its last five matches. Marcus Ingvartsen has 11 goals and three assists for San Diego. Dreyer has three goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
Orlando’s defense has been inconsistent this season, giving up three goals in five minutes in the second half against Minnesota. The Lions have conceded 54 goals this season — tied with Kansas City for most in the league — and have not kept a clean sheet in eight matches.
The Lions currently hold the final playoff spot in the East, albeit one of the wild card positions. The standings are packed tightly, though, with last-place Columbus, for example, only five points behind.
A slip in form could see any of the chasing teams, such as Toronto or D.C. United, overtake the Lions, so the pressure is on with 12 games remaining in the regular season and a U.S. Open Cup semifinal on the horizon.
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After Saturday, Orlando City’s next match is at Atlanta United on Wednesday.