Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Saturday, March 26, 2011
TAMPA, Fla. - Orlando City finished off its preseason as goals by Yordany Alvarez and Jamie Watson gave the Lions a 2-0 victory against the University of South Florida Bulls on Saturday night.
Unlike the team’s last two matches, the Lions took their time to get things going. USF’s strong defense weathered a flurry of Orlando City attacks, bending but not breaking. Several City shots appeared to be scoring chances, but ended up sailing over the crossbar.
“These are the sorts of things we need to improve on,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “We must have had eight or nine shots in the box with no pressure on the ball, and every one’s gone over the bar. At this level, those can come back to haunt you. There’s a lot to work on, but there was a lot of good stuff as well.”
City finally found the back of the net in the 30th minute. Devorn Jorsling, playing in a holding forward role, fought off a USF defender before laying off a pass to Yordany Alvarez. Alvarez took one touch to his right and fired low and to the far post, past the outstretched arms of the USF keeper.
The second half was similar to the first. The Lions controlled possession, but struggled to find a decisive final pass in the final third due in part to the tight Bulls defense. The Lions finally broke through in the 60th minute in a similar fashion to their opening goal.
Jorsling again held the ball up, this time springing Jamie Watson. Seeing the play, the USF keeper came off his line to challenge Watson. As the ’keeper slid, Watson pulled the ball back with his left foot and rounded the keeper, dribbling towards an open net. The Bulls defense scrambled to recover, but Watson struck, his shot hitting a USF defender on the goal line before ricocheting into the net.
After the match, Heath was pleased with his squad’s performance.
“It was a big improvement on the last two or three games," Heath said. "A lot of things we’ve been working on came out tonight. Although it’s only 2-0, I thought it could have been 5-0 or 6-0. I’m pleased with some of the performances. One or two players are starting to get the feel and their touch back. Although it’s probably not the most convincing score line, this is probably the most pleased I’ve been since our last MLS match [a 1-0 win over Toronto FC].”
Next week City opens the USL PRO regular season against the Richmond Kickers. The match in Richmond is set for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
| Box Score | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| Orlando City | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| South Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring Summary
30th Minute – Orlando City: Yordany Alvarez (Devorn Jorsling)
60th Minute – Orlando City: Jamie Watson (Devorn Jorsling)