Welcome to your match thread for tonight's match-up between Orlando City (6-3-1, 19 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-3, 15 points) at Avaya Stadium. It’s the only scheduled meeting in this cross-conference series scheduled for 2017. Orlando City is 0-0-2 in the all-time series (0-0-1 on the road, but that game was at Levi’s Stadium, not Avaya).
Last year, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned to ash in our mouths as the three minutes of stoppage that were signaled by the fourth official turned into a fourth minute and an equalizer by Shea Salinas after Brek Shea had cleared the ball nearly to midfield and left everyone expecting the final whistle.