Orlando City SC (18-4-4, 58 points) celebrated its 100th USL PRO match with a convincing 7-0 victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions (6-17-4, 22 points) at ESPN Wide World of Sports (WWOS) on Saturday night. The victory moved the Lions a step closer in their pursuit of the coveted Commissioner’s Cup.
Midfielder Kevin Molino continued his excellent attacking form during the win, scoring his second hat-trick of the season while providing two assists. The midfielder’s 2014 goal tally now stands at 19.
Commenting on the 7-0, Head Coach Adrian Heath said, “I’m pleased for the boys because the past few weeks haven’t been easy. It’s nice to get a result like that, moving six points ahead with two games to go. We’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity. I’ve said in the past that we’ve left a lot of goals on the table, but today we went after it.”
Orlando went on the attack early on in the game, putting Dayton Goalkeeper Matt Williams under immense pressure. After hitting the post and forcing Williams to make several saves, the Lions opened the scoring in the 6th minute of play when Molino calmly curled Giuseppe Gentile’s pass into the back of the net.
Gentile and Molino proved to be a dangerous tandem all night, breaking down the Dutch Lions’ defense on several occasions. As a result, Gentile scored his second goal in Purple and White in the 38th minute after pouncing on a rebound originally struck by Molino.
Two minutes later, Gentile was once again involved in an Orlando City goal, creating a prime scoring opportunity for Molino. The striker latched onto Molino’s pass and hit a shot that was saved by Williams, but the goalkeeper’s deflection landed in Molino’s path setting up a comfortable finish for his 18th goal of the season.
City opened the second half with the same relentless attack from the first 45, scoring in the opening four minutes from Darwin Cerén’s cross in the box. Cerén’s service found Molino for a clear look at goal, but the Trinidadian unselfishly opted to knock it wide to da Luz whose powerful volley found the back of the net.
The onslaught continued in the 57th minute when Molino bagged his second hat-trick of the season. The Trinidadian pounced on another save from Williams on Gentile’s strike, slotting home his third goal of the night.
Three minutes later Molino continued to cause problems for the Dutch Lions’ defense, playing a crafty through-ball to Mbengue who went one-on-one with the ‘keeper.
The Senegalese midfielder took his chance well and carefully placed the ball into the back of the net to give the Lions an astonishing 6-0 advantage with 30 minutes left to play.
Shortly afterward Rafael Ramos created the ultimate finish for Orlando, whipping a precise ball into the box for da Luz, who nodded home a strong header for his second goal of the match.
NEXT MATCH: The Lions are set to take on the Wilmington Hammerheads on September 3. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Legion Stadium.
Team 1 2 Final
Orlando City SC 3 4 7
Dayton Dutch Lions 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
ORL – Kevin Molino (Giuseppe Gentile) 6’
ORL – Giuseppe Gentile (Unassisted) 38’
ORL – Kevin Molino (Unassisted) 40’
ORL – Austin da Luz (Kevin Molino) 49’
ORL – Kevin Molino (Unassisted) 58’
ORL – Adama Mbengue (Kevin Molino) 60’
ORL – Austin da Luz (Rafael Ramos) 69’
Lineups/Substitutions:
Orlando City SC – GK Carl Woszczysnki, D Tommy Redding, Rafael Ramos, Bitielo Jean-Jacques (Bryan Burke 67’), Rob Valentino (Justin Clark) 62’, M Adama Mbengue (Aodhan Quinn 70’), Austin da Luz, Darwin Cerén, Kevin Molino (Harrison Heath) 62’, Estrela, F Giuseppe Gentile (Dennis Chin 81’)
Dayton Dutch Lions – GK Matt Williams, D Ross Freidman (Irakli Khutsidze 41’), Shintaro Harada, Matt Weit, Taylor Bowlin, M Sebastien Thuriere, Karamba Janneh, Christian Camacho, F David Clemens, Cameron Vickers, Joe Broekhuizen
Disciplinary Summary:
DAY- Ross Friedman (Yellow Card) 21’
Match Facts:
Time of Match: 7:30 p.m. EST
Weather: -- Clear
August 31, 2014
-courtesy Orlando City SC media relations