The impressive USL-PRO campaign being pieced together by Kevin Molino has drawn interest from a familiar Major League Soccer player.
Dom Dwyer reached out to Molino via text message on Wednesday, offering words of encouragement as the Orlando City Soccer Club midfielder inches closer to setting a new league record for goals scored in a season.
"He told me to keep going, to do good, and hopefully I'd break the record on Saturday," Molino said of the exchange. "That's really nice from Dom. He's a player that, even though he's the same age as me, I look up to him because of the way he trains, his desire for football and the way he played [in Orlando]."
Dwyer scored 15 goals for the Lions during the 2013 regular season while on loan from MLS' Sporting Kansas City.
Molino's 14 goals this year ties him for the USL-PRO lead entering Saturday's match against the Harrisburg City Islanders at the ESPN Wide World of Sport Complex. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Orlando City (15-2-4, 49 points) can secure a home playoff game with a win against the Islanders (9-8-6, 33 points).
Even as the goals keep mounting for Molino, the team's success continues to be at the forefront of his priorities.
"Most important for me is that I just want to win the league and help my teammates lift that title once again," Molino said. "As a player, you set certain goals and you want to achieve them. And I want to score as many goals as possible."
The Lions suffered their second league loss last week on the road as Harrisburg City held off a late rally for a 3-2 win. Orlando City coach Adrian Heath was so disappointed with the team's effort in the opening 45 minutes that he made three substitutions at halftime while trailing 2-0.
Playing a team in back-to-back matches could typically be cause for concern, but there's plenty favoring Orlando City entering the match. The Lions have lost only three USL-PRO regular season matches in Orlando since 2011 and enter the weekend with a 16-match unbeaten streak at home in league play.
Orlando City will get some much needed help on the defensive end with the return of midfielder Darwin Cerén and defender Luke Boden after each served one-game suspensions. Defender Rob Valentino has recovered from an ankle injury and will also be available for selection, but midfielder Brian "Cobi" Span has been recalled by FC Dallas while midfielder Ian Christianson is questionable with a calf injury.
"It's an opportunity for the players to get one back over a team that's just beaten them," Heath said. "We don't lose very much, so this is a little bit of revenge for us this weekend."
The Lions have dropped two of their last three matches after a remarkable start to the season. As the USL-PRO schedule winds down, players are running out of time to audition for the club's move to MLS in 2015.
"There's a lot at stake for a lot of players, and maybe the pressure of that hanging over players is maybe affecting one or two of them," Heath said. "But that's the reality of what it is. We've had a little blip the last few weeks, but I'm amazed at how far we've gone this year without [the setbacks]."