LAFC at Orlando City
Saturday, June 15 at 4:30pm PT
Location: INTER&CO Stadium - Orlando, FL 🏟
TV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass 🖥
Radio: 710 AM ESPN 📻, ESPN LA App 📱, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera 📻
Following a two-week break for international competition that saw most of MLS take a pause, LAFC resumes action as it faces off against Eastern Conference opponent Orlando City SC on Saturday, June 15, at INTER&Co Stadium.
In LAFC’s most recent outing, Denis Bouanga's lone goal against FC Dallas on June 1 secured the Black & Gold's seventh consecutive victory across all competitions. The 1-0 win also stretched LAFC's club-record streak of clean sheets across all competitions to 575 scoreless minutes and counting.
With veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris registering his fifth consecutive shutout, LAFC (9W-4L-3D) has surged to second place in the Western Conference, with 30 points from 16 matches played.
Orlando City SC (4W-7L-5D) finds itself in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, having earned 17 points from its 16 matches. The Lions are currently on a winless streak of three matches and have only managed one victory at home in 2024, a 2-0 win against Austin FC on March 23.
Orlando in-depth
After Duncan McGuire’s failed transfer to English side Blackburn Rovers this past offseason, Orlando’s young star forward has continued to prove his worth, leading the Lions with five goals in 13 games played.
In MLS play in 2024, the Lions have a goal differential of minus-8, scoring 16 goals and conceding 24 in 16 games. (In 16 MLS games, LAFC boasts a goal differential of plus-9, with 28 goals scored and 19 conceded.)
Coached by former Colombian international Óscar Pareja, Orlando City is looking for a jump start in 2024 after finishing as the second seed in the Eastern Conference in 2023. The Lions claimed their inaugural trophy in 2022 by winning the U.S. Open Cup.
Designated player Facundo Torres, who netted 15 goals and provided four assists in 2023, is aiming to regain his form after getting off to a slow start, having scored just two goals in 14 games played this season.
Despite eight players being called up for international duty, the Lions are expected to have all players available except perhaps goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, who will be with Peru’s national team when it faces El Salvador on Friday, June 14.
LAFC owns a record of 2W-0L-2D against the Lions across all competitions. Jesús Murillo and Ilie Sánchez each scored goals in the teams’ most recent meeting when the Black & Gold visited Orlando in 2022 and came away with a 4-2 victory.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
The team packs its new road confidence for this trip to central Florida. The Black & Gold are looking for a fourth straight road win in all competitions after starting the season winless in their first five away matches. LAFC needs to feed the ball to a goal-hungry Bouanga, who leads the league in shots (85) and shots on target (34). The defending Western Conference champions are unbeaten this season (8W-0L-1D) when Bouanga has a goal or an assist.
The Lions Can Win If:
They can use the Florida heat and humidity to their advantage against an LAFC team that has not played in a muggy environment so far in 2024. Having scored the second-fewest goals in MLS this season and having been shut out in three of their last five games, the Lions will need to find ways to get past a stingy LAFC back line that hasn’t given up a goal in five straight MLS matches. Orlando’s back line, which has conceded only four goals in its past five matches, will look to continue that form on Saturday.
