Recap: Lions and Union battle in stalemate

Joe Petro / OCSC 

By Mike Gramajo 

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Philadelphia Union’s search for their first victory over Orlando City SC still goes on. 

Corey Hertzog gave the Lions the early lead in the 31st minute, after he chipped the ball over Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath, however, Leo Fernandes’ strike in the 73rd minute helped the MLS side to a 1-1 draw at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Wednesday night. 

“We got a long way to go, we turned over the ball too quickly in very dangerous positions, it looks like we haven’t played in a long time,” said OCSC head coach Adrian Heath. “We have a lot of work to do, but I can’t fault them, terrific effort. It was a fair result.

“We’ll get better, I know that. I’m very demanding of my players, so they know what to expect. We had two great chances to win the game, but our goalkeepers came with unbelievable saves, we have tough competition for that No. 1 shirt.” 

Heath opted to start his MLS signings Yordany Alvarez, Darwin Ceren and Kevin Molino in the midfield, which proved to pay dividends in the first half since it created various scoring opportunities. 

The match was also Molino’s first game back after he was out of the country working on a work permit. 

Maurice Edu almost gave the Union the opener in the 25th minute, when his shot toward the top right corner of the net was punched out by Orlando goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo. 

The Lions were able to find the opening goal in the 31st minute when Luke Boden’s pass found the former Red Bull, as he chipped the ball over MacMath for the 1-0 lead at halftime. 

In the second half, Heath substituted Hertzog out for Dennis Chin, while James O’Connor came in for Yordany Alvarez. 

OCSC could of doubled the lead in the 56th minute when Molino found Austin da Luz in a through pass, leaving the keeper to beat but only failing after the ball hit the post and Chin missing wide on the rebound. 

Despite failing to double the lead, the Union leveled the match in the 73rd minute after second-half substitute Leo Fernandes shot an unassisted dead ball from outside the 18 yard box, which deflected off defender Rob Valentino’s shin for the 1-1 tie. 

Chin would miss a chance to give the Lions the lead again several minutes later, after he beat second-half substitute goalkeeper Andre Blake, but missing as the ball hit off the goal post. 

Match Preview | Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union (Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic)

Courtesy of OCSC 

By Mike Gramajo

Orlando City SC will kickoff their run in the 2014 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic when they meet the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday (7:00 p.m. at ESPN Wide World of Sports). 

“Over the years, the one thing that we’ve proved to MLS teams is that we’ve always been competitive with them, and we expect to do that again,” OCSC head coach Adrian Heath said in a statement. “We are always a little bit behind them (MLS teams) in terms of numbers and training time, but I’m still looking for an improved performance from our previous two matches.”      

After having a successful MLS SuperDraft, the Union are entering Wednesday night’s clash as heavy favorites, lining up stars such as Jack McInerney and USMNT star Maurice Edu, who recently joined the club on-loan from Stoke City. 

Despite having already and up and down 2014 preseason, the Union will also enter their match against Orlando having never beaten the Lions, drawing twice and falling once to Adrian Heath’s men. Both the Union and Lions played to a 1-1 draw in last year’s Disney Pro Soccer Classic opener. 

Darwin Ceren and Yordany Alvarez are once again expected to make the start in the midfield, while Heath is expected to start both forwards Dennis Chin and Corey Hertzog. 

The week long tournament will see Orlando also line up against Toronto FC and Columbus Crew. 

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What do you think the outcome will be? Do you think Orlando can pull an upset? Can the Union show their preseason dominance? 

Must-See Video: Dog invades football pitch during Argentine league match

By Mike Gramajo

While we're used to seeing fans invade the soccer field, Sunday's league match between River Plate and Rosario Central had a different type of invader.

Around the 70th minute, the match was put on a standstill after a dog decided to take a walk around the field where the match was taking place.

It did result into the referees adding an additional seven minutes to stoppage time, but just trying to capture the four-legged animal resulted into "Ole's" from the crowd.

Take a look at the video below:

Official Orlando Soccer Journal (OSJ) logo

By OSJ Staff

The time has come to introduce the official logo of the Orlando Soccer Journal (OSJ)

We here at the OSJ have a mission, a mission that stands by delivering the best news on Orlando City SC.

The logo was designed by freelance graphic designer Gustavo Gamez. He's been in the industry for about two years now and some of his work includes, designing logos for community business' such as apartment complexes, media companies lawn care industries and most recently sports.

We have been working on the design for about a month now. Purple is the main color due to the fact that Orlando's soccer scene is painted purple, the shield also indicates the passion for soccer the OSJ has, and the stripes going down to include a broader look into soccer.

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What do you think of the design? Keep following the OSJ on Twitter for the latest news on OCSC.

VIDEO | Orlando City's Adrian Heath reaction on Chicago Fire defeat

Chicago Fires three vs. Orlando City

Photo by Joe Petro / OCSC 

By Mike Gramajo

BRADENTON, Fla. — Firing up the preseason. 

The Chicago Fire claimed a 3-0 victory over Orlando City SC on Tuesday night, at the IMG Academy Stadium, during a preseason friendly. 

“I thought some of the guys did okay. It’s difficult to play an MLS team that’s two weeks ahead of conditioning,” said Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath. “We’ll be better, we got a long way to go since we don’t start until the end of March, so we have to just move on.” 

The Fire opened up the scoring in the opening 13 minutes when midfielder Harry Shipp curled in a free-kick from outside the box, beating goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo for the early lead. Forward Daniel Jackson doubled the lead in the 30th minute when a defensive error lead to Jackson to capitalize on the mistake. 

Dennis Chin played the first half as a lone striker, having midfielders Jamie Watson, Yordany Alvarez and Darwin Ceren pull the strings for the former Rollins College player. 

“These games too early for, but we got to make the most of what we have,” said Heath. “We got some pieces still to come and a couple of signings to come before the Disney (Pro Soccer Classic) tournament arrives.” 

In the second half, OCSC looked more alive after giving two early first half goals. Newcomer Corey Hertzog entered to play alongside Dennis Chin, which left Darwin Ceren to play more of a center-attacking midfielder role. 

Former OCSC player Freddie Braun scored the third and final goal in the 79th  minute when his shot went past Lions second-half goalkeeper substitute Carl Woszczyki, which rebounded off the bar, defelcting off Braun’s shin for the goal. 

Kevin Molino did not dress up since he’s still in Trinidad and Tobago working on his Visa, while Bryan Burke appeared on the bench but did not warm up, signaling that he’s still trying to reach form since his season-ending injury in 2013. 

Trialist that stood out was defender RJ Allen, who came in as a second-half substitute. 

Orlando City now pay attention to the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, which kicks off on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. They will open up their run at the DPSC vs. the Philadelphia Union, who were huge winners in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft. 

OSJ Live Commentary (Orlando City SC vs. Chicago Fire)

Photo by Brian Kersey

By Mike Gramajo

BRADENTON, Fla. — Orlando City SC kickoff their line of preseason friendlies when they face off against the Chicago Fire at the IMG Academy.

Both sides will meet for the first time since their quarter final U.S. Open Cup encounter, which saw the Fire staple a 5-1 victory over the Lions in June 2013.

Today's match is the first of four preseason matches that headline OCSC's friendlies in February, three of which will take part in the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic later this month.

The Fire will feature former University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights goalkeeper Sean Johnson, while also newcomer Benji Joya, who joined the club on-loan from Liga MX side Santos Laguna and has featured in the United States U-20 squad. Lastly, 2013 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player Mike Magee will more than likely see minutes against the Lions.

With Dennis Chin playing the role of a lone striker, expect many scoring opportunities from the midfield, which has seen an increase in depth during the offseason. 

Follow along with the OSJ (Live commentary below after the jump):