Atlanta United 2 fell to Orlando City B 3-2 at Fifth Third Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Midfielder Javier Armas and defender Efraín Morales each claimed their first goal of the season.
Atlanta took an early lead in the 10th minute when Luke Brennan was taken down inside the box, resulting in a penalty for ATL UTD 2. Armas stepped up to the spot and slotted in a right footed shot to the bottom left of the net for a 1-0 advantage.
In the 25th minute, Orlando midfielder Jhon Solís was brought down by Efraín Morales after making a deep run into the box. Solís leveled the match in the 27th minute after sending the penalty straight up the middle of the goal.
Shortly after bringing the scoreline even at 1-1, Orlando forward Yutaro Tsukada approached a free kick outside of the Atlanta penalty box and curled in a right footed shot to the top right of the goal to put Orlando ahead 2-1 heading into the break.
Coming out of halftime, a scramble in Atlanta’s box resulted in Orlando forward Colin Guske collecting the ball from 20 yards out before he wound up a powerful shot that found itself in the top left corner of the net, sending Orlando up 3-1.
In the 72nd minute, midfielder Matías Gallardo’s cross found Noble Okello, who was waiting in a dangerous position inside the six-yard box and headed the ball to the middle of the goal, but Orlando’s keeper was waiting to collect the shot attempt.
With 10 minutes remaining in regulation, defender Daniel Russo whipped in a cross to the back post and found a waiting Erik Centeno, but he was unable to keep his shot on frame and sent the attempt high.
In the waning minutes of the match, Centeno collected a pass on the right wing from a free kick near midfield and sent in a cross to the center of the box, finding Morales who headed the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal to bring the game to 3-2.
Atlanta United 2 (0-0-1, 0 points) returns to action Sunday, March 24 when it hosts Carolina Core FC at Fifth Third Stadium (3:00 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass, Soccer Down Here). Some ATL UTD 2 matches are available with an MLS Season Pass subscription, located on the Apple TV app while the remainder of matches are streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Match Summary
Stats:
Shots: 20-5 Atlanta
Shots on target: 6-3 Atlanta
Corner kicks: 10-0 Atlanta
Fouls Committed: 17-18 Orlando
Passing accuracy: 88.4 - 71.9 Orlando
Possesion: 68% - 32% Atlanta
Scoring:
ATL - Javier Armas (penalty) 10'
ORL - Jhon Solís (penalty) 27'
ORL - Yutaro Tsukada 30'
ORL - Colin Guske (Alex Freeman) 49'
ATL - Efraín Morales (Erik Centeno) 90'+1'
Disciplinary:
ATL - Noble Okello 19' 🟨
ORL - Colin Guske 21' 🟨
ORL - Wilfredo Rivera 59' 🟨
ORL - Manuel Cocca 76' 🟨
ORL - Majed Abdullah 90' 🟨
Notes:
- Atlanta United 2 out-shot Orlando City B 20-5.
- Atlanta United 2's 20 shots were the second most in a single match in club history in MLS NEXT Pro play.
- Atlanta United 2's 10 corner kicks is the most in club history in MLS NEXT Pro play.
- Javier Armas scored his first professional goal.
- Javier Armas led all players in shots with five, tying him for second in club history in MLS NEXT Pro play.
- Daniel Russo led all players with seven crosses.
