(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Summer in Florida means beach days, unsuspected rain showers, spontaneous theme-park trips, cold brews at sunset and Orlando City SC squandering a position in the Major League Soccer playoffs. The Lions arguably possess the most talented squad on paper, but, as the cliché states, games aren’t played on paper.
From July 5 to Sept. 2, Orlando City played eight games but only accrued two points out of a possible 24. This is startling but not shocking to fans of the club. In 2015, City played 10 games in the same span and struggled to a measly six points out of a possible 30. However, in the 2016 stretch, City played 11 games, gaining 15 points out of a possible 33, which proves that the team can perform in the summer.
The points are not the most concerning part—it is the effort. Every season, it seems like once the pressure is off from missing the playoffs, City turn the intensity switch back on and play their brilliant best. In 2015, City won five of the final seven games, and, in 2016, City won or tied in four of the final eight games, despite having a managerial switch from United Soccer League title-winning coach Adrian Heath to MLS title-winning coach Jason Kreis.
This season, City dropped like a bead of sweat from a tourist’s eyebrow, going from fifth to ninth in this summer period. Even with the designated player signing of Peruvian midfielder Yoshimar Yotún from Swedish side Malmö FF and a trade with Sporting Kansas City that brought Anglo-American striker Dom Dwyer back to Orlando, the Lions still struggled. Injuries, mental fatigue and international duty plague City during this time of year when the team need its full strength most.
In this case, increased effort off-the-ball to close down defenders in midfield to cause havoc for defenders, which allows poachers like Cyle Larin, Carlos Rivas and Dwyer to score, has been notably absent.
Players certainly can’t blame conditions, as Orlando is one of the most humid and wettest places in the summer, supposedly granting an advantage to players who have trained here all season long.
Coincidentally, since waiving Matías Pérez García on June 28, Orlando City have been on this slide down the Eastern Conference standings. He may have only contributed one goal and two assists, but the Argentinian native was vital in link-up play and relieving pressure from team captain and fellow attacking midfielder Ricardo Kaká and Larin.
If City want to keep the Brazilian legend around for at least one more season, ample improvement over this perennial lull period must be of great importance. Kaká is used to winning and dominating, and it would be a long time before a player of his stature arrives in the City Beautiful again. Larin has also expressed his desire to move to Europe in the future, and his team-leading goals will be a large gap to fill. Performance is the statistic that star-caliber players look at most when deliberating their future.
This past Saturday, City, once again, remembered how to win in September against fellow strugglers D.C. United by a score of 2-1. At this moment, City are five points in arrears to sixth place Atlanta United FC, who have three games in hand and are next to play on the schedule. If City have any hope of making the playoffs, the team must win all six remaining games and hope teams around them falter.
Orlando City B and the Orlando Pride are currently in a playoff positions, and their efforts should motivate and set an example to the MLS squad to finish strongly and push all three organizations into the postseason for the first time.
The Lions need to roar in their remaining games if the team wants to make the MLS playoffs, as mediocracy should not be an option for a team with aspirations as high as they are in Orlando.
For more on Orlando City, as they vie for a playoff spot in the waning games of the 2017 season, follow New Day Review on Twitter at @NewDayReview.
