Saturday, April 7, 2012
CHARLOTTE -- Orlando City stole the show on opening night, beating the Charlotte Eagles 2-0 at Charlotte Christian Stadium on Saturday night. Dennis Chin scored first for Orlando in the third minute, while Kevin Molino added a second in stoppage time as he was able to put Orlando ahead 2-0.
Orlando began the game in full control, monopolizing the midfield and able to beat Charlotte to the ball. The Lions capitalized on their early pressure almost immediately. In the third minute, Chin received a great through ball. Taking on Charlotte’s Josh Rife, he was able to find the angle and place a beautiful shot over Eagles goalkeeper Eric Reed from 15 yards out, putting the Lions up 1-0.
The Eagles tried to hit back quickly, creating a bit of a scare for Orlando goalkeeper, Sean Kelley, but the Lions were able to maintain their advantage. The game settled substantially after the first 20 minutes, but Orlando continued to dominate the midfield as the Eagles struggled with their first touch.
The Eagles squandered the first corner kick of the match in the 28th minute, as Orlando read the play immediately and went on the counter-attack. The Eagles’ second chance at a corner, four minutes later, proved much more successful as Brad Stisser flicked the ball on goal, making Kelley come up with a good save.
The Eagles then received a golden opportunity to tie the game just before the break after a mix-up in Orlando’s defense. Eagles midfielder Jorge Herrera was pulled down in the box winning a penalty kick with three minutes left in the half. Herrera looked for the left side of the goal with his shot, but Kelley went the right way and made the save, protecting Orlando’s 1-0 lead at the break.
Both teams came out hard in the second half, but neither was able to create much offensively to show for it as the bulk of the play was contained in the midfield. The Eagles began applying more pressure 20 minutes into the second half as Orlando was content to sit on its 1-0 lead. But as the Eagles pushed hard for an equalizer, they were unable to break down the Lions’ back four.
Orlando then sealed its victory in second-half stoppage time as they took on the Eagles’ defense in a 3-on-2 breakaway. Molino was able to fire past Reed off an assist by Matt Luzunaris to give his side a 2-0 victory.
Charlotte will try to earn its first victory of the season when it hosts the Dayton Dutch Lions in its next outing on Friday night, at Charlotte Latin Stadium at 7 p.m. Orlando returns home next weekend to host the Wilmington Hammerheads at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Sunday at 6 p.m.