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Dom Dwyer is stunning the league, and is reportedly on his way to Orlando City this week. I’m almost speechless at the acquisition, but it also makes complete sense at the same time. The Sporting Kansas City faithful may be upset, but in a sense, he’s going back to his roots here in America. After going to college at USF in Tampa, the energetic striker spent some time at Orlando City when they were in the USL back in 2013, and fans fell in love with him during this time period. Dwyer scored four goals in the USL Championship in their resounding 7-4 victory.
#SportingKC has agreed to trade Dom Dwyer to Orlando City SC in exchange for $1.6 million in allocation money, $700K of which is incentives.
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) July 25, 2017
With his surprise signing, will he make an appearance for Orlando on Saturday at Bobby Dodd against Atlanta United?
He played in three matches on international duty with the United States, scoring against Ghana and Panama in his first two caps for the United States Men’s National Team. For Sporting Kansas City this season, he’s scored five goals in fifteen appearances. When Cyle Larin came back from Gold Cup duty with Canada, he was a surprise substitute after having just flown back less than 24 hours before the match. He didn’t have much of an impact when he was substituted in, but look for him to try to have a much bigger role when he starts this weekend. The physical presence of Larin will be matched up with the aggressive and energetic play of Dwyer, and they will look to wear down the probable center back pairing of Leandro Gonzalez Pirez and Michael Parkhurst.
The 5’9 striker hasn’t had the chance to make an appearance against Atlanta yet, but his goal record speaks for itself in MLS. Dwyer’s sudden appearance has the potential to heighten an already high energy match. The atmosphere will certainly be electric on Friday at the Orlando City Stadium if Dwyer is to make his debut.
After the events of this past week with the billboard shenanigans, supporter drama and eventual win, it’s safe to say the atmosphere will be highly charged, and seeing Dom Dwyer take the field will add fuel to the fire of the Atlanta United support. Get ready for some fireworks this Saturday, y’all