Orlando City News Release -- www.orlandocitysoccer.com
Saturday, August 27, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando secured its first appearance in the USL PRO Championship Game by defeating the Richmond Kickers 3-0 in the American Division Final at the Florida Citrus Bowl on Saturday night. 8,304 fans packed the Citrus Bowl as they watched their Lions play one of their strongest matches of the season, one that propelled Orlando into the USL PRO Championship Game next Saturday.
The game began with Richmond on the offensive. The Kickers were well aware of Orlando’s unbeaten record when scoring first, and pushed hard in the first 15 minutes for a goal. Lions goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo was kept busy early on, but the Lions were able to withstand the early pressure.
The game changed on a spot of good fortune for the Lions. Luke Boden picked up the ball off the left corner of the penalty area and blasted a shot from 20 yards out. Boden’s shot deflected off of Richmond defender Luke Vercollone and left Richmond keeper Ronnie Pascale wrong footed. The one goal was all Orlando would need, but that did not stop the Lions from charging.
Late in the first half, Orlando struck again. Haitian international Mechack Jerome rocketed in a shot from 30 yards out to put Orlando up 2-0 going into the halftime break. The knuckling shot left no chance for Pascale to come near a save. The goal was Jerome’s first of the season.
“I got the shot I wanted,” Jerome said. “It was great to finally get a goal.”
Orlando controlled much of the tempo in the second half, with the defense creating opportunity after opportunity for the attack-oriented offense. Richmond rarely held the ball in the second half, limiting star forward Matthew Delicâte to just one shot all match.
The dominant second half came to a head in the 70th minute. A sequence of quick passes found Lewis Neal in space about 35 yards from goal. Neal slipped a low through-ball past the Kickers defense to Dennis Chin, who juked his defender, giving him the space to strike and score his second playoff goal and third goal in as many games.
City Head Coach Adrian Heath was pleased with his squad following the match.
“I am really satisfied with tonight’s result," Heath said. "We played composed football, which is something I am very proud of.”
Orlando will face the Harrisburg City Islanders next week in the USL PRO Championship Game. The match will be played at the Florida Citrus Bowl next Saturday, September 3, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast nationally on FOX Soccer. To secure your seat to the USL PRO Championship Game, call the ticket office at 855-ORL-CITY (855-675-2489) or email tickets@orlandocitysoccer.com. Tickets start at just $12.