Orlando City B kicked off their season tonight at Osceola Heritage Park and took on a hard-fighting Huntsville City squad. The great thing for OCB is that they played a fair amount of the first team players going into this match. The starting XI was chock full of players who have appeared on the bench (or have been just outside) for the first team, putting in a solid shift for OCB in this one.
Lineup
Below is the starting XI for OCB tonight with five Orlando City players appearing for the B team.
Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, and Justin Ellis all made the bench for Orlando City the day prior but didn’t see any time with the first team so this was a perfect opportunity to see these guys get some playing time.
First Half
The half started out lively for Orlando City B as they really tried to start on the front foot and get forward but Huntsville looked determined to start off better than their opponent. While Huntsville did have to sub on a center back to replace their injured starter, it didn’t affect their shape at all and allowed Huntsville to get out on the attack. That resulted in the first goal of the match for the away team, as former OCB player Shak Mohammed got Huntsville on the board first.
Unfortunately for OCB, it would get worse on the scoreline as Huntsville would turn around quickly and add one more goal to extend their lead to two-zero. Jordan Knight would grab the second off an assist from Maximus Ekk.
The assist 🪄
The finish 🎯Knight doubles the lead for @HuntCityFC! pic.twitter.com/R0CiDTTkiq
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 3, 2026
While Orlando City B would be down big early, the young Lions would fight back and get one right before half as Justin Ellis pinged a long ball to Gustavo Caraballo who made two players miss and then got the ball to Harvey Sarajian who would slot it home to bring the score to 2-1 Huntsville.
Sarajian cuts it onto his right and slots it home! 🧊
2-1 @OrlandoCityB pic.twitter.com/wB3KWuMUrE
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 3, 2026
Orlando City B ended the first half much stronger than how they started and it was great to see the fight from the entire team to get back into it. The first team players really stood out, as Sarajian, Ellis, and Caraballo really pushed the attack forward. The defensive miscues were the biggest issue for Orlando City B in the first half. Javier Otero looked out of his element at times, during the first half. On the first goal, he got caught up in his defender in front and the ball easily passed through. The second goal wasn’t as much on him as his defenders didn’t give him much help. It was a big win for the team to get a goal before half.
Second Half
For the second half, Orlando City B came out strong and really tried to tie the game up. In the 58th minute, Orlando City B had a fantastic break off of a Huntsville corner with Zakaria Taifi running through the Huntsville midfield and getting the ball to Ellis who was on the wing, sprinting towards the opponents’ box. The ball finally ended up at the feet of Pedro Leao who put it just wide (but the broadcast thought the ball went in for almost the entire rest of the game). The good times would run out again, with Otero getting caught out again and Shak Mohammed chipping the ball over Otero into the net.
Shakur Mohammed from a long way out! 😱 pic.twitter.com/4KEM61baDQ
— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) March 3, 2026
After going down 3-1, Orlando City B made some subs to change the game, with two academy players coming on (Matthew Belgodere came on for Caraballo and Dominik Baczewski came on for Caleb Trombino) and Jaylen Yearwood came on for Issah Haruna, to help bring some defensive solidity and help push Taifi up the field. It wasn’t enough for Orlando City B and they would fall 3-1 at home.
Players to Highlight
- Harvey Sarajian-He was arguably the best attacker on the field and was making tons of movement down the entire left-hand side. He not only scored a great cut back goal but he created 2 chances, had an 80% successful dribble percentage, 5 defensive contributions, 3 tackles, and 2 each of interceptions and recoveries.
- Gustavo Caraballo-He was electric on the right-hand side and had some moments where he made a real difference. He had the one assist on the night but also created another chance, a dangerous shot that almost went in, 2 recoveries, but was dribbled past 2 times. His defensive game wasn’t the strongest but his offense was great.
- Justin Ellis-Ellis showed off why Orlando City signed him to a first team deal. He had an 83% passing rate, created 3 chances, 2 recoveries, 1 tackle, and drew a foul right outside the box with a free kick. He wasn’t as productive as the other two players above but he still had a solid game.
- Issah Haruna and Caleb Trombino-I thought both players made for a quality midfield pairing for most of the game. Both come in pretty young and inexperienced at the top level, so to see them play with some quality was nice to see. Trombino certainly had some moments where he looked pretty raw but Haruna was solid throughout and deserves credit for his polished play.
- Javier Otero and Nicolas Lasheras-Both of these players struggled for much of the night and it cost Orlando City B goals. Otero was directly responsible for two of the goals, with one of them happening because the two players ran into each other. Otero had a pretty off night and while he saved a PK as well as 4 other shots, he didn’t bring his best game. I’m not going to hit on Lasheras too much seeing as he’s so young and was pressed into service but I’d like to see some growth from him going into the next match.
What’s Next?
On Sunday, March 8th, Orlando City B takes on Chicago Fire II at Osceola Heritage Park. The day before, Orlando City plays at 2:30pm. So depending on which players travel and when the first team gets home, some first team players could feature for OCB on Sunday. I’d love to see Ellis, Sarajian, and Caraballo feature again for Orlando City B if they don’t get playing time with the first team. I’d also like to see if Luis Otavio could get a run out with the team if the first team doesn’t use him. This team looks like they need a bit more time to gel and get back some players who are currently injured. The defense struggled without those guys in the lineup tonight.
If you’re in town, check out the boys on Sunday. If you’re a season ticket holder you get tickets for free and if you aren’t, you can get tickets for $10. Go support the young Lions!
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