Orlando City Stadium (25,000) | May 27th, 2017 | 7:30 PM ET ​ ​ charlotteindependence.com #CLTvORL Charlotte Independence (2-2-2) vs. Orlando City B (3-3-3) ​ ​ ​ Charlotte (N.C.) – The Charlotte Independence (2-2-2) travel to take on Orlando City B (3-3-3) this Saturday, May 27th at Orlando City ​ ​ Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET. With the Independence playing two league games in the month of May, the Jacks are searching for points early in the season. The Independence’s last league game was a Thursday night 5-1 victory over the defending 2016 USL Champion New York Red Bulls II. The five goal game tied a franchise record for most scored in a game, which rookies Callum Ross and Jaime Siaj got the first goals of their careers. The ​ ​ ​ ​ Independence now face an Orlando side who they squared off with earlier this season resulting in a point for both teams. Orlando, most recently claiming a 2-0 away victory over FC Cincinnati last Saturday, currently sits in sixth place in the USL Eastern Conference table. The Independence head into Saturday’s game coming off a 3-2 victory against the Charlotte Eagles in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, claiming the Charlotte Derby for a second consecutive season. The Independence took an early lead on the Eagles following a tenth minute goal by Casey Townsend, and carried the 1-0 lead into the half. However, the Eagles came roaring back in the second half with back-to-back goals by Ryan ​ ​ ​ Williams and Kelvin Omondi in the 61st and 63rd minutes. Enzo Martinez converted an equalizing penalty kick in the 77th minute, and scored the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ game-winning goal in the 88th minute. Enzo Martinez’s two-goal performance made him the first Independence player in franchise history to accomplish ​ ​ the feat three times. The Saturday, May 27th game will be broadcast on WCCB’s Antenna TV (Spectrum channel 1261, OTA 18.2) and on the USL’s Match Center via YouTube. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM ET. The Independence will move to their new, home stadium in the Sportsplex at Matthews on Saturday, June 17th. Tickets are on sale now. Statistical Snapshot Broadcast Information *2017 Stats Charlotte Orlando Antenna TV Network (OTA channel 18.2) will Leading Scorer(s) Enzo Martinez (3) Richie Laryea (3) broadcast all 24 Saturday evening Independence home and away games throughout the 2017 season. Leading Assister(s) Yann Ekra (2) Pierre Da Silva (4) Goals Per Game 1.5 1.22 Local Providers of Antenna Network: Spectrum (Time Warner Cable) - Channel 1261 Saves Per Game 2.33 3.00 Over the Air – Channel 18.2 Charter - Channel 199 Goals Against Average 1.67 1.11 Comporium - Channel 117 Shots Per Game 9.50 7.00 Fibrant (Salisbury, NC) - Channel 44 MI Connection - Channel 105 Shots on Target Per 4.83 3.67 Skyline/Skybest - Channel 262 Game Truvista - Channel 82 All games are streamed live on the USL’s youtube channel, and on the USL.com’s game center. Game 4 Storylines Two Goals, Thrice 2016 USL First-Teamer and League MVP Finalist, Enzo Martinez scored two goals in the Independence’s US Open Cup match versus the Charlotte Eagles. That is his second brace this season with the first coming on Saturday, April 22nd in Saint Louis. Only seven times has an Independence player scored two goals in the same game, and Enzo Martinez is now the only player in franchise history to have accomplished this feat three times. Missing the Captain Last week, Bilal Duckett underwent surgery for an ankle injury sustained in the 2017 season opener versus the Charleston Battery. Since then, Duckett has played three league games (only missing two starts). Duckett is estimated to miss 4-6 weeks. In 2016, the team captain, started in 29 regular season contests, logging a team-high 2,577 minutes played. Hitting the Mark The Independence boast the fifth-best pass completion percentage (79%) in the league. Eight Independence players have passing accuracies above 80%. Through six games, Luke Waechter and Jun Marques-Davidson have more than 300 passes completed. Seven Independence players have a passes per ninety average above 50. Road Warriors & Moving to Matthews Starting April 22nd, the next five of seven games for the Independence will be on the road. The Independence boasted a 6-2-7 road record last season. The Independence will play their first game at their new home stadium at the Sportsplex at Matthews on Saturday, June 17 where they will host the Harrisburg City Islanders. Rookie Regime Rookie defender, Luke Waechter has started in every match for the Independence this season. Rookie midfielder, Callum Ross, with three starts this season, scored his first professional goal in the last league game versus the New York Red Bulls II. In Jaime Saij’s professional debut versus the Red Bulls, he netted his first career goal. Ross helped Wingate University win the 2016 DII NCAA Men’s National Championship, Siaj helped Pfeiffer University win the 2015 DII NCAA Men’s National Championship and Waechter was named Conference USA Defender of the Year in 2016. Colorado Connection This offseason, the Charlotte Independence renewed their affiliation with the MLS’ Colorado Rapids. Current loaned Rapids players include; Defender Dennis Castillo. Goalkeeper Cody Mizell signed a short term deal with the Rapids at the beginning of the season Injury Report Jacob Bender - Out Bilal Duckett - (ankle) Out 4-6 weeks Last Game’s Starting XI Forwards: Jaime Siaj, Casey Townsend Midfielders: Callum Ross, Lewis Hilton, Yann Ekra, David Spies Defenders: Austin Yearwood, Henry Kalungi, Luke Waechter, Joel Johnson Goalkeeper: Cody Mizell Weekly Quotes Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries On This Match Up vs. Last Match Up... I think we’re both slightly different teams from the last time. They played a fairly young group against us, and I expect this group is going to be a little more of what they’re going to play in the last couple weeks, which are some pretty experienced MLS guys. I think this is going to be a game that both teams are capable of keeping the ball and possessing. Both teams are capable of pressuring and pressing and making it difficult. So, I think this game is going to be played at a pretty good pace. Orlando City is very very good; they’ve got some clever 1v1 attacking players, and they’ve done a good job as far as their shape defensively, so for us, it’s going to be a game that we have to manage their athletic skill. With the ball, we’ve got to be quick and switch play pretty quickly to get at them. On Da Silva… Da Silva is very good. I keep looking at his age and thinking no way. He is really dynamic left-footed, and certainly one of those one-on-one players I spoke about. I think at the USL level currently, he is one of those dynamic, hard to deal with players. He’s definitely one of those guys we’ll have to focus on. He’s just a really good, young, attacking player. On traveling to Orlando… We walked away a little disappointed last time. It’s the only game we’ve scored first all year, and we didn’t manage to hold on to it and get a win. In that regard, it’s always been a tough environment. Lucky for us, we’ve gotten there at the beginning of the season before the weather is brutal with humidity, so it’s a pretty good time to play them. It is a tough road trip in that it’s a long way to go. On keeping the team in a game mindset… Athletes thrive on the routine of having a game every week, and that’s what everyone looks forward to. I do feel like the break between Rochester and New York gave us time to work on some of the things we haven’t done well, so that’s a plus. Following New York, we’ve gone back to some of the basics, but having such a long break gave us the opportunity to practice. It’s a function of where we are in the season and what our schedule is. But, we head into this week with a full week. Last Time They Met Charlotte’s Records vs Orlando City B All-Time Record: 1-1-2 Home Record: 1-0-0 Away Record: 0-1-2 Charlotte Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries Coaching Experience: 24 years ​ Independence: 3rd Season ​ Independence Record: (28-19-20) ​ Jeffries was named the first Head Coach in Independence history on Dec. 5, 2014. In two season, he has led Charlotte to a USL playoff game, a 5th place regular season finish, and a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory over the MLS side New England Revolution. Jeffries’ squad missed the playoffs in the inaugural season by just one point. Before making the move to the USL, Jeffries spent two seasons with the Des Moines Menace of the Premier Development League, where he had a combined regular-season record of 18-7-3. He was named the 2014 PDL Coach of the Year after guiding the Menace to the league’s regular-season championship. The Menace collected its first postseason win in five years and built an 11-match unbeaten streak before falling in the PDL quarterfinals to eventual champion the Michigan Bucks. Jeffries also led the Menace to a combined 3-2 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S.