The Orlando City Lions will advance to the USL PRO Championship after shutting out the Richmond Kickers 3-0 in the American Division Final at the Citrus Bowl.
The Lions had control from the opening minutes, playing stifling defense, and barely giving the Kickers a decent look at the goal. It wasn’t until the eighteenth minute that Luke Boden, a middle fielder, scored on a good look just outside of the goal. The Lions took advantage of the previous goal’s momentum, getting multiple on-goal shots before taking a 2-0 lead on a deep strike by Mechack Jerome just before the half.
The lions put the nail in the coffin in the 69th minute of the match on a big goal by Dennis Chin that put Orlando City up by three scores. After that, the Richmond Kickers could not get anything going offensively, with very few on-goal shot opportunities.
A rambunctious crowd of 8,304 cheered on the Lion’s in the waning minutes chanting Steam’s, “Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Goodbye”.
The Orlando City Lions are coming off of a 3-1 playoff victory versus the Charleston Battery last Saturday. For the first time in their very young history, they will play in the USL PRO Championship, which will be held September 3rd at the Citrus Bowl.
