The Seattle Sounders are hosting Orlando City SC on Wednesday in their first and only regular-season meeting this year. Here is everything you need to know about the match:
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT at CenturyLink Field.
WHERE TO WATCH: The game will be televised on JOEtv.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The game will air on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and in Spanish on El Rey 1360AM.
2017 RECORDS AND STANDINGS: Sounders: 5-7-4 (19 points, 8th place West), OCSC: 7-5-4 (25 points, 4th place East).
ALL-TIME HISTORY: The Sounders are 2-0-0 all time against Orlando City and have outscored them 7-1.
RECENT MEETINGS: The Sounders defeated Orlando City 3-1 last August at Camping World Stadium in Orlando behind a hat trick from Clint Dempsey. This match marked the beginning of Seattle’s miraculous late-season comeback en route to winning MLS Cup.
PRIDE NIGHT: The Sounders and fellow Seattle sports teams the Mariners, Reign, Seahawks and Storm will lead the first joint endeavor to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community as part of Pride Month 2017. The Sounders will kick off the celebrations during Wednesday’s match and will give away 10,000 Pride-themed captain’s armbands, courtesy of Starbucks. Pregame ceremonies will also include a check presentation to the GSBA Scholarship Fund with the two teams walking out featuring Pride-themed scarves and a joint photo.
MR. 300: Just a couple months after passing the 20,000-minute mark for his career, Sounders captain Osvaldo Alonso made his 300th club appearance across all competitions against New York City FC las Saturday. “I didn’t know that,” Alonso said humbly after the match. “It’s great to be here for so long and getting 300 appearances is a lot of games.”
SHIFTING FOCUS: The Sounders had already put their 2-1 loss to NYCFC behind them when the boarded they plane back to Seattle last Saturday. “[Orlando City] is a quality team and we’re focused already,” said Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan. “We’re focused on what they bring to the table and we have to take it to them because we’re at home and that’s where we play extremely well.”
HOME COOKING: The Sounders welcome Orlando City SC to Seattle in search of their fifth straight home win across all competitions. Seattle has three straight 1-0 MLS regular-season wins at CenturyLink Field dating back to May 20, as well as a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup at Starfire Sports in Tukwila.
ROAD WOES: Orlando City SC has thrived in its new soccer-specific stadium that opened this year, sporting a 6-1-3 record, but OCSC has struggled on the road, bagging just four points from six matches.
ONE WIN IN NINE: Orlando City started the season in incredible form, going 6-1-0, but in the nine games since, OCSC has just one win with a 1-4-4 record.
COMEBACK KIDS: Orlando City was in danger of dropping only its second home match of the season last weekend, trailing the Montreal Impact in the 94th minute. Defender Jonathan Spector, however, equalized in the game’s final seconds to salvage a home point.
SUSPENDED STAR: Orlando City’s prolific forward Cyle Larin, who is the club’s leading goalscorer with eight tallies in 2017, is out indefinitely following a DUI arrest last Thursday morning. You can read statements from Major League Soccer, OCSC and Larin here.
