As Orlando City prepares to host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, both teams are coming off victories in the U.S. Open Cup.

But wins have been rare this season for both sides when it comes to MLS league games.

Orlando City (1-5-1, 4 points) and Houston (2-4-0, 6 points) still have time to battle back into playoff contention. Saturday’s matchup provides an opportunity to build toward those goals.

Orlando City’s only MLS victory came March 14 against Montreal, but was followed by losses to LAFC and Nashville by a combined score of 11-0.

This week, though, has been the most positive yet for the Lions after dueling Columbus to a 1-1 tie and scoring a 1-0 win over FC Naples to advance to the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16.

Orlando City, which parted ways with coach Oscar Pareja after starting the season with three losses, announced Friday that Argentina native Sebastian Setti, who has coached in MLS, Europe and Liga MX, will join interim coach Martin Perelman as an assistant coach. Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic lead the Lions with two goals each.

“It’s important,” Orlando City forward Tyrese Spicer said about the U.S. Cup win this week. “Every game is like a final, as Martin (Perelman) says. We have to stack up the victories one by one and we have to keep building.”

Houston rebounded from an ugly 6-2 loss to Colorado last Saturday with a 4-1 win over El Paso in the U.S. Open Cup.

“We were able to manage the game in the best way possible to set us up hopefully with some success here on the weekend — and on the road where we have not performed well, to be honest,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said.

Midfielder Guilherme has been one of the bright spots for a team looking for consistency. Before the lopsided loss to the Rapids, two of the Dynamo’s losses have been by one goal and another by two goals.

Guilherme has five goals this season, tying him with reigning league MVP Lionel Messi and others for the fourth-most in MLS.

–Field Level Media

Four weeks after helping Nebraska edge Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, power forward Berke Buyuktuncel has decided to switch from the Cornhuskers to the Commodores for his senior year.

According to reports, Buyuktuncel, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward who averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting 61 games the last two years at Nebraska, has become Vanderbilt’s first pickup in the transfer portal since it opened on April 7.

Buyuktuncel clearly made a strong impression when Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt, 74-72, on March 21 to earn its first Sweet 16 appearance. He scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was regarded as the game’s most effective offensive player per KenPom.com with his 177 Offensive Rating.

While Nebraska loses its fourth starter from its 28-7 squad that earned a No. 4 seed — Buyuktuncel joins graduating seniors Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence going out the door — Vanderbilt adds a big man with some ability to stretch the floor, protect the rim and pass the ball.

The lefthander averaged 6.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 block in 24.3 minutes per game last season. He shot just 24.1% from 3-point range as his long-range accuracy continues to drop from his 29.7% showing as a UCLA freshman and his 27.7% as a Nebraska sophomore.

According to reports, Nebraska has beefed up its roster with two players from the transfer portal. Redshirt junior forward Kadyn Betts, who spent three years at Minnesota before averaging 3.1 points in 6.6 minutes per game for Montana last season, gives the Huskers a 6-foot-8 perimeter threat who has hit 12 of 31 3-point attempts (38.7%) in limited minutes.

Nebraska also reportedly has added Utah Valley junior Trevan Leonhardt, a versatile 6-foot-4 guard who earned first-team all-WAC honors after averaging 11.9 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

–Field Level Media

For the first time in eight seasons and the eighth time overall, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs, with the opening game of their first-round series taking place Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

The latest chapter of the Battle of Pennsylvania features a couple teams ending lengthy postseason droughts. The Penguins last made the playoffs in 2022, but beyond that, the franchise’s last series win came in 2018 against the Flyers.

Philadelphia last made the playoffs in 2020. However, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier and Travis Sanheim are the only players remaining from that squad.

This Flyers team surprised some by reaching the postseason, but they earned their spot thanks to their strong play down the stretch. Coach Rick Tocchet’s club went 18-7-1 after the Olympics, going from sixth in the Metropolitan — eight points back of the then-third-place New York Islanders — to leapfrogging the Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets and Islanders for the division’s final playoff spot.

The Flyers may be the third-youngest team by average age in the postseason, according to EliteProspects.com, but Tocchet said the past few weeks have been a playoff-like atmosphere. Now, the question becomes how much slack the coach gives his younger players when the pressure increases, especially when playing a veteran-laden group like the Penguins.

“I don’t want these guys to be nervous if they make a mistake,” Tocchet said. “Then I’m not doing my job if I’m making these guys nervous.”

One young player who has stood out is Porter Martone, who joined the club in late March. He scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the Flyers’ last eight games, with points in each of the last six.

Tocchet has already made his choice in goal in Dan Vladar, who played six straight games earlier this month and went 5-1 with a .921 save percentage. He allowed a total of six goals in the five wins and will making his first career playoff start.

The Czech goalie has played the Penguins six times in his career. He is 2-3-1 with an .899 save percentage and a 3.10 goals-against average.

Pittsburgh does have a question of who will be its netminder. Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner shared that role during the regular season. Skinner, acquired during the season from Edmonton for Tristan Jarry, has made back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, but Silovs also has postseason experience from his time in Vancouver.

While Skinner has more experience, both have fared well against the Flyers. Skinner is 5-1-2 in eight games with a .913 save percentage and a 2.45 GAA, while Silovs is 1-0-1 with a .944 save percentage and a 1.92 GAA.

While the Flyers have youth, the Penguins have a core of 30-somethings looking to make one last run to the Cup. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have three titles in their nearly two decades together in the Steel City. Despite being 38 and 39, respectively, they continue to lead; Crosby put up a team-hgh 74 points in 68 games, while Malkin had 61 in 56.

First-year coach Dan Muse said that leadership has its advantages.

“I don’t have to say anything,” Muse said Friday. “I know for sure that the guys that have the significant playoff experience … are going to be playing a big role there in just terms of helping along the guys that this is their first time.”

–Field Level Media