The last time the Crew played on Orlando City SC's home field at Inter&Co Stadium (formerly Exploria Stadium), they punched their ticket to the MLS Cup Eastern Conference final with goals from Cucho Hernandez and Christan Ramirez in overtime.
In Saturday's game, Columbus will be without one of the goal scorers from that 2-0 November victory. For the third match in a row, Hernandez is being sidelined due to a back injury.
During Hernandez's absence, Ramirez has had two of his best performances since the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs.
Ramirez made his first start since returning from a grade two hamstring strain on May 15 against CF Montreal and recorded his first goal contribution with an assist on Diego Rossi's tally. He followed that up against the Chicago Fire with a goal of his own.
"I feel like my season’s started now," Ramirez said. "I’m going it at the right time. I think I had a very good summer around this time last year, so just trying to keep with it, keep my feet on the ground every time. I try to play free whenever I’m out there and be an extension of (Crew coach) Wilfried (Nancy) out there."
The Crew are seeking their first MLS regular-season road victory over Orlando since 2017.
Follow along for updates from Columbus' road match against Orlando City SC:
(24) Orlando City commits first foul against Columbus Crew
Midfielder Cesar Araujo commits the first foul for Orlando with a hit to Crew forward Alex Matan near midfield.
Orlando was able to hold off being handed a foul for over 20 minutes against the Crew, who are on pace to suffer the most fouls against in MLS regular season history.
(16) Orlando City defender Wilder Cartagena misses shot attempt
Orlando City had another opportunity to score off a corner kick minutes after Luis Muriel was called offsides in his attempt for a corner. Defender Wilder Cartagena took a header shot just feet away from Columbus' goal that bounced on the ground and over the net.
(12) Orlando City records offsides penalty
Orlando City's Luis Muriel thought that he might have had the first goal of the night after scoring off a corner kick play, but the goal was quickly overruled by the sideline official due to him being offsides.
Orlando City SC starting lineup vs Columbus Crew
Here is the starting 11 for Orlando vs Columbus:
- GK: Pedro Gallese
- DF: David Brekalo
- DF: Wilder Cartagena
- DF: Rodrigo Schlegel
- MF: Ivan Angulo
- MF: Cesar Araujo
- MF: Nico Lodeiro
- MF: Dagur Dan Thorhallsson
- FW: Jack Lynn
- FW: Luis Muriel
- FW: Facundo Torres
Columbus Crew starting lineup vs Orlando City SC
Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs Orlando:
- GK: Patrick Schulte
- DF: Rudy Camacho
- DF: Yevhen Cheberko
- DF: Steven Moreira
- MF: Max Arfsten
- MF: Aidan Morris
- MF: Darlington Nagbe
- MF: Yaw Yeboah
- FW: Alex Matan
- FW: Diego Rossi
- FW: Jacen Russell-Rowe
Orlando City SC injury report vs Columbus Crew
Here is Orlando's official availability report:
- Ramiro Enrique (ankle): Questionable
- Mikey Halliday (knee): Out
- Robin Jansson (ankle): Questionable
- Ducan McGuire (shoulder): Out
- Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh): Out
Columbus Crew injury report vs Orlando City SC
Crew coach Wilfried Nany confirmed Wednesday before the match that leading scorer Cucho Hernandez would be unavailable against Orlando, missing the third straight match due to a back injury.
Here is the Crew's official availability report:
- Evan Bush (arm): Out
- Cucho Hernandez (back): Out
Who are the referees for Columbus Crew vs Orlando City SC?
Here are the officials for the Crew vs Orlando on Saturday night:
- Referee: Jair Marrufo
- Assistant Referee 1: Jose Da Silva
- Assistant Referee 2: Tyler Wyrostek
- Fourth Official: Marcos De Oliveira
- VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
- Assistant VAR: Robert Schaap
Where does Orlando City SC rank in MLS Eastern Conference standings?
Orlando has had a rough start to the 2024 season, putting the club in tenth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 4-5-4, which is good for 16 points.
Here are Orlando's most recent MLS results:
- May 18: Orlando 1, San Jose Earthquakes 0
- May 15: Orlando 0, Inter Miami 0
- May 11: Orlando 3, Philadelphia Union 2
- May 4: FC Cincinnati 1, Orlando 0
- April 27: Toronto FC 2, Orlando 1
Where do Columbus Crew rank in MLS Eastern Conference standings?
Despite picking up six points following two road victories last week, the Crew made little improvement in the standings. As Crew forward Christian Ramirez put it, "Whenever we win games, everybody above us wins."
The Crew started their two-game week in eighth in the Eastern Conference standings and are now entering their Orlando match this week in seventh with a record of 5-2-6, which is good for 21 points.
Here are the Crew's most recent MLS results:
- May 18: Columbus 3, Chicago Fire 1
- May 15: Columbus 3, CF Montreal 1
- May 11: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus 1
- April 27: Columbus 0, CF Montreal 0
- April 20: Columbus 2, Portland Timbers 2
When do Columbus Crew play in CONCACAF Champions Cup final?
The Crew will compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final on Saturday, June 1 against Liga MX's CF Pachuca in Pachuca, Mexico.
This marks the club's first ever appearance in the tournament's final, as Columbus has only made it to the quarterfinals in the past. To advance to this stage, the Crew defeated Houston Dynamo in the round of 16, Tigres in the quarterfinals and CF Monterrey in the semifinals.
Due to the final taking place during MLS regular-season play, there were two changes made to the Crew's schedule. Columbus will now face New England Revolution (originally scheduled for Wednesday, May 29) on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Seattle Sounders (originally scheduled for June 1) on Saturday, Sep. 7.
Columbus Crew overall record vs Orlando City SC
The Crew are 6-9-4 overall against Orlando and 2-7-3 on the road.
How to listen to Columbus Crew vs Orlando City SC radio broadcast
The Crew vs. Orlando English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus' regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.
The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 102.5 FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.
Columbus Crew vs Orlando City SC streaming information
The Crew-Orlando match will be available on Apple TV via the MLS Season Pass with a subscription. Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:
- English broadcast: Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play), Danny Higginbotham (analyst)
- Spanish broadcast: Alejandro Figueredo (play-by-play), Jaime Macias (analyst)
When is the Columbus Crew vs Orlando City SC match?
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 25 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
bmackay@dispatch.com
