Saturday, May 25, 2013
ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando City SC (8-1-2, 26 points) defeated the visiting Wilmington Hammerheads (2-5-0, 6 points) 4-1 on Saturday night at Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Sporting Kansas City loanee Dom Dywer tied the USL PRO single-season scoring record with a first-half strike, moving him to 13 goals on the year.
“I think we scored good goals this evening and played well in pockets,” said Orlando City Head Coach Adrian Heath. “But I thought we were too loose in possession and our desire to keep a clean sheet was poor. It might sound blasé because we won 4-1 but I know we can always play better.”
Orlando took to their possession-oriented style of play at the game’s start, feeding multiple attacks by the Lions’ frontline that nearly resulted in early goals. The first chance for Orlando came from Kevin Molino in the 10th minute, whose shot was parried by Wilmington goalkeeper Troy Hernandez into the path of league-leading scorer Dwyer, who had his low-liner go just wide of the post and out of play.
Orlando kept pressuring Wilmington, and it paid off in the 25th minute. After a handball was called on the Hammerheads' Uriah Bentick just outside the penalty area, Jamie Watson and Dwyer lined up to take the attempt just outside the 18-yard box. The Cuckfield, England, native proceeded to take the attempt, rocketing his shot into the top-right corner for the 1-0 advantage. The goal tied Dwyer for most goals scored in USL PRO regular-season history with 13, originally set by Jhonny Artega in 2011.
The Lions capitalized one more time before the halftime whistle blew, this time with Watson providing the finish. A give-and-go with Bryan Burke in the 39th minute inside the penalty area found a waiting Watson, who scored, giving Orlando a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, Orlando scored its third of the match behind a strong finish from Burke. Midfielder James O’Connor split the Wilmington defense in the 51st minute, finding Burke on the edge of the box. The former Kitsap Pumas star fired his shot into the roof of the net for the 3-0 lead.
The Hammerheads took a bite into the Orlando lead in the 69th minute, with Paul Nicholson converting a deflection past Orlando goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo to cut the deficit to two. Orlando responded just before the end of the match, with a header from Rob Valentino giving the Lions a comfortable 4-1 advantage.
The Lions enter the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night against Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids at Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Tuesday’s game marks the first time Orlando has hosted an MLS team at home in the knockout tournament, with the Lions traveling to opponent’s venues in the third round of the past two seasons. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available by calling 855.ORL.CITY and Ticketmaster.com. For more information on Tuesday’s match, please visit Orlandocitysoccer.com.