Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Thursday, June 2, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City extended its undefeated streak to 10 games, but it wasn't able to break down a resolute Charlotte Eagles defense as Thursday night's game in front of 4,241 fans at the Florida Citrus Bowl ended in a 0-0 draw. 
The teams battled to gain the upper hand in the first half. Both played aggressively, sending long balls downfield that saw numerous changes in possession. But as the half wore on, Orlando began to settle and managed to produce a spell of pressure in the Charlotte half. While the Eagles' defense was up to the challenge for most of the half, goalkeeper Eric Reed needed to make an excellent save to deny Kevin Molino midway through the half.
Outside of that opportunity, neither side was able to create any clear-cut opportunities, and the half ended scoreless. The second half brought about almost equal frustration for Orlando. Charlotte continued to restrict their passing lanes, choosing to pack its defense tightly in the penalty area before springing out on the counter-attack, but even when those opportunities arose the Eagles had trouble capitalizing on their chances.
One counter-attack by the Eagles did see them gain a man-advantage, as Orlando's Jack Traynor was shown a red card for a professional foul. Traynor tried to stop a breakaway attempt from a Charlotte forward by grabbing him around the waist by the jersey, but the Eagles were unable to take advantage of the resulting free kick.
Charlotte came closest to taking the lead in the second half with just under 10 minutes to go as Jorge Herrera hit the left post from 25 yards, but otherwise Miguel Gallardo was excellent in net, claiming a number of crosses strongly and saving well from Walter Moore in stoppage time.
“Well I think Charlotte did a good job, you’ve got to give them a bit of credit too,” said Orlando's Jamie Watson, who returned to the side as a second-half substitute. “A lot of teams haven’t been able to do that and they did and I think that gave us some problems and at times we figured it out and at times we didn’t.”
While the tie was not what Orlando was hoping for, however, the Lions were able to extend their undefeated streak to 10 games, leaving them still first in the top of the table. Charlotte also extended its undefeated streak to four games, during which it has accumulated eight points.
“Being one pass away from giving somebody a really good scoring chance, I think that was one thing we lacked tonight," Watson said. “We got in some good positions to the final third and then the last ball was what killed us tonight.”