The Jacks and the Baby Simbas will be playing Saturday night on short rest. Both teams handled their business in different ways Wednesday night.

Charlotte did something they’ve haven’t done all season: their 1–0 victory against the Steel was their first 1–0 victory of the entire year.

Just as Wednesday night was a first for Charlotte, so was it for OCB. The Baby Simbas beat the Ottawa Fury 3–0, which is their highest margin of victory all year.

Number 13, Hadji Barry will be a player to watch for OCB. He assisted on the first goal and scored the remaining two goals. Considering that there were playoff hopes at stake that night, it was an impressive win against the team that beat the Independence just a few days prior.

Welcome to the Playoff Discussion, OCB

After impressively downing Ottawa Fury FC Wednesday night, OCB has entered the playoff discussion. Due to that outcome, they are now sitting in 8th in the East; their 31 points places them in the final playoff spot. Being just three points ahead of NYRBII means that this game is important for their playoff hopes. OCB will be hoping to gain all three points tonight, but history is not on their side: no one has beaten the Independence since the move to Matthews.

Unbeatable at The ‘Plex?

The Independence have been truly remarkable since finding a permanent home in Matthews. Wednesday night, they increased their #beatless record at The ‘Plex to six games, five of which were wins. During those six games, they have three cleans sheets and have only allowed three goals total. Their offense has been nothing short of explosive as well. The team has scored 13 goals while playing at their new consistent home in Matthews. Scoring at this increased rate won’t be easy against one of the toughest defenses in the East tonight.

Another Test For Charlotte’s Attack

Orlando City’s USL squad is only allowing 0.9 goals per game this season. The defense of OCB is anchored by their agile and quick keeper: Earl Edwards Jr. is currently leading the USL with nine clean sheets. His save percentage is also impressive with an average of 77.6% shots saved.

Apparently, we could be in for another low scoring affair in Matthews. But if OCB wants to cement their playoff position, Edwards will have to make some more of those impressive saves.

Drawing Masters

OCB has been unbeaten over the last two months. Their streak started on Jun 23rd when they defeated Rochester 1–0 at Capelli Sport Stadium. I won’t try and refute that not losing a game in nearly two months is impressive. But one thing I will note is that six of the nine outcomes during that “impressive” stretch have been draws.

Recent Form

Charlotte: W | W | D | L | W

Orlando: D | D | D | W | W

Game Details

What: Charlotte Independence vs Orlando City B (USL season)

Where: Sportsplex, Matthews, NC

When: Saturday 8/19, 7:00pm ET

Prediction Time

I believe we will be in for another intense game Saturday night. As their record would indicate, Charlotte plays excellently at home. I see that trend continuing as well as them playing spoiler to OCB recent unbeaten streak. We only managed one goal on Wednesday night and I see that happening again Saturday. I’m predicting a 1–0 clean sheet for the Jacks again. The lone goal scorer will be David Estrada, and Cody Mizell will be man of the match.