D.C. United (7-4-6, 27 points) return to MLS action for an Eastern Conference matchup with Orlando City SC (5-7-3, 18 points) at Audi Field tonight at 8 PM. The Black-and-Red defeated Orlando 2-1 earlier this season on March 31 at Orlando City Stadium and have registered an overall record of 5-4-1 against the club.
D.C. United are coming off a hard-fought 2-1 defeat against New York City FC on June 19 in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring for the Black-and-Red in the 32nd minute off an assist from Ulises Segura. Segura sent a long ball past the center backs to put Rooney one-on-one with the goalkeeper for a quality finish. New York City FC quickly equalized six minutes later with Alexandru Mitrita finishing a counter-attack off an assist from Keaton Parks. Midfielder Ismael Tajouri-Shradi then put New York City ahead in the 41st minute after finishing another counter-attack off an assist from Sebastien Ibeagha to give New York the 2-1 victory.
In their last match, Orlando City SC defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on June 19. The two sides were level after 90 minutes as they headed into extra time. Benji Michel opened the scoring for Orlando in the 96th minute after a shot deflected off the goalkeeper right into his path and he finished into the bottom right corner from point-blank range. Tesho Akindele put Orlando City up 2-0 after his shot deflected off a defender right into the back of the net in the 101st minute. New England then scored a goal in garbage time, but could not come up with the equalizer.
Orlando City SC have struggled away from home this season as they have compiled a record of 2-3-2 on the road. Portuguese midfielder Nani leads Orlando City SC with eight goals and four assists during his debut season in MLS. Goalkeeper Brian Rowe has recorded 43 saves to go along with three clean sheets in the 14 games he has played this season.
D.C. United are unbeaten in their last four MLS matches at Audi Field. Captain Wayne Rooney leads the Black-and-Red with eight goals and five assists this season. The Englishman was recently selected to his first MLS All-Star Game. Luciano Acosta has begun to recover his scoring form as he has recorded goals in each of his last two matches in MLS for United. Bill Hamid leads all goalkeepers in MLS this season with 68 saves and is second in the league with seven shutouts. The Black-and-Red will be without Paul Arriola and Junior Moreno who are away on international duty with the USMNT and Venezuela respectively.
The match will be broadcasted on FloFC at 8 PM ET. Pre-game show with Dave and Devin starts at 7:30 PM ET.
