Orlando City SC vs. Montreal Impact | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Orlando City SC vs. Montreal Impact
2018 MLS Regular Season - Week 17
Orlando City Stadium — Orlando
June 23 - 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: TVAS, ESPN+

This is the second meeting in 10 days between the Eastern Conference foes, with the Montreal Impact cruising to a 3-0 win over Orlando City SC at Stade Saputo on June 13. That proved to be Jason Kreis’ final game as coach with Bobby Murphy taking over on an interim basis, trying to halt a six-match losing streak.

After losing four straight, the Impact have won two of their last three and are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Orlando (3W-1D), scoring multiple goals in three of the four games, per Opta.

Orlando City SC

With the storm of a coaching upheaval overhead, and a literal storm that delayed the match 90 minutes six minutes after kickoff, Orlando (6-8-1) picked up an emotional win over D.C. United in the Round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday night at Maryland SoccerPlex.

In their first game since Jason Kreis was let go following six consecutive league losses, the Lions advanced, 4-2, on penalty kicks.

Justin Meram leveled for the Lions seven minutes after Luciano Acosta put the hosts in front on 10 minutes, but neither team was able to break the stalemate after 120 minutes and the match went to penalty kicks. Will Johnson, Sacha Kljestan, Chris Mueller and Josue Colman converted their kicks for the Lions, who clinched a quarterfinal date with the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium on July 18.

"In the moment, you just try to give everything you have, and I think the guys worked really hard tonight," Kljestan said. "It's certainly not going to be easy to get home tomorrow afternoon and have a short training on Friday and be ready to play on Saturday. But we also know our backs are against the wall, and at any point in the season if we really need to dig deep and grind out another result, that would probably be on Saturday.”

Suspended: M - Cristian Higuita
Suspended after next caution: D/M - Will Johnson, M - Uri Rosell
International duty: M - Yoshi Yotun
Injury Report: OUT: GK - Mason Stajduhar (Localized Ewing Sarcoma)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Joe Bendik — RJ Allen, Jonathan Spector, Lamine Sane, Mohamed El-Munir — Will Johnson, Uri Rosell — Josue Colman, Sacha Kljestan, Justin Meram — Dom Dwyer

Notes: Orlando’s 3-0 loss to Montreal on June 13 was the seventh time in his MLS career that Dom Dwyer has taken at least five shots in a match and failed to score. … Orlando have lost six straight games, their longest losing streak in franchise history. They have allowed an average of 2.8 goals per game over that run.

Montreal Impact

Have Montreal (5-11-0) turned a corner after beating the Houston Dynamo and Orlando with a loss at FC Dallas sandwiched between? There’s still a lot of work to do, but the Impact can move within a point of the playoff line in the East with another win over the Lions.

In the June 13 win, Ignacio Piatti struck for a brace and Amro Tarek had an own goal to secure the win as Montreal kept a clean sheet for the fourth time in five wins this season.

“Only by keeping this collective spirit state of sacrifice for the team we will move forward," head coach Remi Garde said. “It has a causal connection that is evident between the fact that everyone is at the service of the team and our success. Perhaps the success that has fled us for so many games is a little bit of a smile. It's up to us to continue to build a form of trust that has been lacking before.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Samuel Piette
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Zakaria Diallo (ruptured Achilles tendon), D - Kyle Fisher (tibia injury), D - Victor Cabrera (calf injury), M - David Choiniere (ankle surgery), M - Louis Beland-Goyette (foot injury); QUESTIONABLE: M - Jeisson Vargas (undisclosed injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Evan Bush — Chris Duvall, Rod Fanni, Rudy Camacho, Daniel Lovitz — Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider — Raheem Edwards, Ken Krolicki, Ignacio Piatti — Matteo Mancosu

Notes: Piatti finished with two goals and three key passes in Montreal’s 3-0 win over Orlando on June 13, becoming the first Impact player to have multiple such games. … Montreal have won two of their last three games, keeping clean sheets in both wins – including their last game against Orlando City.

All-Time Series

Overall: Orlando City SC 3 wins, 14 goals … Montreal Impact 4 wins, 16 goals … 2 draws
At Orlando: Orlando City SC 2 wins, 7 goals … Impact 1 win, 6 goals … 1 draw
Last meeting at Orlando: Orlando City SC 3, Montreal Impact 3 (June 17, 2017)