ORLANDO, Fla. – After their first match-up of the 2012 regular season was cancelled last Sunday due to rain, the Orlando City U23s take on the Mississippi Brilla FC at Harper Davis Field Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., on Friday, June 29. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

“The ball is in our court,” said Orlando City U23s Head Coach Joe Avallone. “We’ve been coming together in what has been a couple productive weeks of practices. Every game is tough in our division and Friday will be no different. We have to be ready. ”

Last week, Orlando fell to the Ocala Stampede 1-0 at The Villages Polo Club in Ocala, Fla. Stampede Forward Karamba Janneh scored the game’s only goal in the 70th minute of the match to secure the victory over the Lions. The loss was only Orlando’s second of the season, dropping them to 4-2-4 on the year. Ocala has since gone on to win their next two matches, vaulting the Stampede into first place in the Southeast Division.

VSI Tampa Flames, another team in the division, defeated FC Jax 4-3 on June 23, launching the Flames into third place with 17 points while the U23s remain in striking distance with a total of 16. Orlando and VSI have only played 10 matches this season while the top two teams in the standings, Ocala and IMG Bradenton, have played 12 and 13, respectively.

Friday’s opponent, Mississippi, is currently in sixth position in the Southeast Division with a record of 4-4-1 and 13 points. The Brilla are led by Head Coach Dave Dixon, who was a finalist for the 2010 PDL Coach of The Year after leading his club to an 11-0-3 record in the regular season. The team’s leading scorer is Midfielder Felipe Silva, who has six goals in 2012.

For more information on the U23s match on Friday and more, visit Orlandocitysoccer.com. You can follow the U23s on Twitter by visiting their page @OrlandoCityU23s for all your City U23s news.

Player to Watch- McKauly Tulloch:

A recent addition to the Orlando City U23s squad, Forward McKauly Tulloch is joining the Lions after a productive season with the UCF Knights. In 2011, he ranked second in C-USA in points and points per game (2) along with making 15 starts in 17 games. The Kingston, Jamaica, native will give City an extra option at the forward spot against Mississippi on Friday and beyond.

Available Roster: Moses Aduny, Johan Bergfeld, Ricardo Campbell, Oumar Diakhite, David Graydon, Will Frandsen, Ryan Griffin, Ezequiel Pedraza, Joseph Toby, Steven Williams, Sean Reynolds, Anthony Arico, Keneil Baker, Jonathan Mendoza, Nicolas Russo, Verneri Valimaa, Jowayne Laidley, Darvin Ebanks, McKauly Tulloch, Gonzalo Demohita, Alexander McDonald, Chip Sanders, Sam Fairhurst