City Takes Comfortable 4-1 Win over Ocala Stampede

May 14, 2014 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orlando City SC News Release


Sanford, Fla. - Orlando City SC took a comfortable 4-1 win over Premier Development League (PDL) side Ocala Stampede on Wednesday night at Seminole Soccer Complex. The win advances City into the third round of Open Cup, with the Lions set to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on May 28.

"It was a pleasing night for us, but I take my hat off to Ocala," said Head Coach Adrian Heath. "I've got a lot of respect for them giving it their all. We scored four goals, but they gave it everything they had and I was really impressed by that."

After an unprecedented run in the Open Cup last year that saw City advance to the quarter-finals, Orlando began this year's campaign against the same team they faced in their opening Cup match in 2013.

Orlando took a comfortable 2-1 win in Ocala last year to kick-start its Cinderella run, and the Stampede came into Wednesday's match looking for revenge. Unfortunately for Ocala, the 2013 defending USL PRO champions would find the back of the net early in the first half, making things a bit more difficult for the Stampede.

In the 13th minute, Forward Dennis Chin got free down the left side and pulled the ball across the box for Aodhan Quinn who then played it in space for Corey Hertzog who was all alone inside the area. The former Vancouver Whitecap calmly placed the ball past Ocala Goalkeeper Lex Craggs, scoring his first goal for Orlando since the start of the regular season.

Six minutes later, the Stampede attempted to respond via a dangerous counter-attack that led to a Jack Bailey chance from the edge of the area, but his final effort went just wide of the post.

Aside from Bailey's early chance, the Lions' defense seemed to have things under control. Bryan Burke made his return to the OCSC defense for the first time in 10 months and showed glimpses of his blistering pace that terrorized opposing defenses in the 2013 season.

"It was great to have (Bryan) Burke back. It looked like he never went away," added Heath after the match.

Things would get worse for Ocala in the 28th minute when Hertzog found Chin inside the box for Orlando's second goal of the night. The two strikers combined with a one-two on the area that saw Hertzog play a crafty ball in behind, leading to a clinical finish from Chin that went between the Goalkeeper's legs.

Orlando would another to the score-line one minute before half-time when an Ocala defender handled the ball inside the area. Hertzog secured his first brace in purple and white by placing the ensuing penalty in the bottom right corner, giving City a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.

Both sides made one change at the half, including Orlando's first ever homegrown signing Tommy Redding who came on for veteran Defender Brad Rusin. The substitution marked Redding's first ever competitive match for Orlando City.

The second half featured a slower tempo for Orlando, who looked like they were in no rush to score another goal. With a 3-0 cushion under their belts, the Lions played mainly possession based football throughout the second 45.

However, after dominating possession for a long spell, City became careless in their play and Ocala was able to pull one back in the 61st minute. The Stampede scored its first goal when Forward Karamba Janneh pinged the ball across the box to Ben Knight, who snuck it past Woszczynksi.

In 83rd minute, Chin added the final dagger after pouncing on a loose ball inside the six. Chin's goal was the result of a surging run inside the box from Kevin Molino who came close to scoring himself.

With the win, Orlando advances into the third round of the U.S. Open Cup and will face NASL side, Tampa Bay Rowdies 28. In the past two years, City has gone 4-0-0 against the Rowdies with the most recent victory coming in the form of a 3-0 win over Tampa at ESPN Wide World of Sports on April 30th.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from May 14, 2014


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