Misconduct Summary:
PCBP- Matt Friesen- Yellow (Unsporting Behavior) 34’
ORL- Joseph Toby- Yellow (Unsporting Behavior) 57’
ODL- David Graydon- Yellow (Unsporting Behavior) 87’


Scoring Summary:
ORL- Oumar Diakhite (Sam Fairhurst) 39’
ORL- Veneri Valimaa (Ryan Griffin) 75’

Lineups:
Orlando City – Brendan Moore, Joseph Toby, Sean Reynolds, Oumar Diakhite, Jonathan Mendoza (Nicolas Russo 76), Sam Fairhurst (Johan Bergfeld 72), Alexander McDonald (David Graydon 76), Anthony Arico (Verneri Valimaa 73), Moses Aduny (Ryan Griffin 70), McKauley Tulloch (Gonzalo DeMujica 44)

Substitutes not used: Charles Sanders


Panama City Beach Pirates – Jeremy Crumpton, Eduardo Tovar, Taian de Souza, Drew Russell, Robbie Russell (Eric Goldberg 55), Marquel Waldron, David Malloy, Lance Nelson, Matt Friesen (Jason Ream 65), Rafael Machado (Guillermo Alcavaz 65), Tyler Witmer

Substitutes not used: Lee Johnston, Mikey Lightbourne, Corey Adamson, Ricardo Menendez

Match Facts:
Time of Game – 8:00 p.m.
Weather- Clear


Orlando, Fla. – The Orlando City U23s, with the help of an Oumar Diakhite header in the first half and Veneri Valimaa strike in the second, defeated the Panama City Beach Pirates 2-0 at Gavlak Stadium in Panama City Beach, Fla., moving into second place in the division with only three games left in the regular season.

Orlando (7-2-4, 25 points) got on the scoreboard first. In the 39th minute Sam Fairhurst found Defender Oumar Diakhite leaping above the Panama City Beach (6-4-2, 20 points) defense, heading in the corner past Pirate Goalkeeper Jeremy Crumpton to take the 1-0 lead. The goal marks Diakhite’s second in the last two matches, as the Senegal native scored the game winner in City’s 2-1 win over Mississippi Brilla FC on Tuesday.

The U23s kept applying constant pressure to the Pirates backline, with the persistence paying off in the 75th minute. Veneri Valimaa, who was substituted in two minutes earlier, found himself with a clear lane after Defender Ryan Griffin led the Coral Springs native past the Panama City Beach defenders. Valimaa rocketed a shot just inside the 18’, giving Orlando the 2-0 lead and victory.

With the win, Orlando moves into sole possession of second place in the Southeast Division. The Ocala Stampede, who have a match in-hand on the Lions, remain atop the division with a record of 9-3-2 and 29 points. The two teams don’t meet for the remainder of the season.

The U23s, who only have three games remaining in the PDL regular season, have little time to rest before their next match against IMG Bradenton Academics. On Tuesday, July 10, Bradenton will pay a visit to the Lions at their home field of Seminole Soccer Complex in Sanford, Fla., with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

The two clubs met previously in 2012, resulting in a 1-1 draw. Jonathan Mendoza scored the equalizer in the 69th minute at IMG Soccer Academy, giving the Lions the ever-important point on the road. For information leading up to the Bradenton match on Tuesday and more, visit Orlandocitysoccer.com. Be sure to follow the U23s on Twitter @OrlandoCityU23s for all your City U23 news.