(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
Oct. 18, 2017 at Orlando City Stadium
Availability: HC Jason Kreis, GK Joe Bendik, RB Scott Sutter
- Orlando City SC concludes its season on Sunday in Philadelphia against the Philadelphia Union.
- If City lose or draw, it will be the lowest point total the Lions have ever finished with in three seasons of existence.
- In 2016, City finished with 41 points; in 2015, the Lions finished with 44 points.
- Earlier this season, in the second game of the year, City defeated the Union 2-1 in Orlando.
- City started the season winning their first six of seven games before winning just four times since a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids on April 29.
HC JASON KREIS: “It’s a funny question because, for me, every game and every training session is a dress rehearsal for next year. And, as I said in the press conference after the game, we play a professional sport. Our jobs are on the line. If we don’t perform, we don’t get wins, then we are at jeopardy of losing our jobs with this club, so, for me, it’s the same. It has been the same all year, and it will be the same on Sunday.”
“Could be [a chance for players to solidify a spot for next season]. Could be. I haven’t really fully vetted that out or fully thought about it enough to say that I’m set in my starting lineup. I’m not. I’m watching the training sessions very closely, right now, to see who I think deserves an opportunity to play in this last match.”
“For me, it’s about ending well. Everything that we do, we should wanna do well at the end. That’s why we’re competitors. That’s why we’re professional athletes, professional coaches. We wanna finish well. We wanna be able to walk out of the season with our heads held high and our chest out to say, ‘Okay, we gave everything we had.'”
“Yeah, I mean, I guess I would say that the objective would be a good one [to beat last year’s point total]. I really went into these last two games and thought, for us, I wanted to finish top of all the teams that were on 39 points. I think that’s still somewhat possible, if some other results go our way. Another objective, I think, that was there for us was to finish with the most points ever that Orlando City’s had, which would’ve been 45, which we could’ve got to with six points. So, now, yeah, I do think it’s about—that’s another objective that we can have is to have more points than we did last year, but I would say the flip side of that is I don’t think that we’re gonna—you know, that’s gonna alter any of our course or decisions in the offseason, if we finish with more points than we did last year.”
“I absolutely think [there are positives with the first-year players], and I would like to tell you thank you for asking about positives. It doesn’t get often done in interviews with people that are working in the press, so I appreciate that. I think there’s been a lot of positives this season. Certainly, when the end goal was to make the playoffs, and it was pretty clear in all of our hearts, in all of our feelings, we’re certainly deeply sad that we didn’t do that, but we do need to take a moment and look for the positives, and I do think there was quite a few.”
“I don’t know, yet, [how long I’ll rest before beginning offseason work], to be honest. I feel a tremendous amount of angst to get right back to it, to just continue working and plowing through because that’s how badly I want it. And that’s what I like to do is work. So, I also know that, mentally, at some point, I’m gonna need a break, but I think there’s gonna be one coming up at Christmas. So, I’m leaning towards just pushing right through and working on and focusing on that break that’ll come at Christmas time.”
“Yeah, [my wife’s] always the more level-headed one and the calm one and the rational one. But she’s on the same page as me. We really want this to go right here. We really love it here, and we would like to be here a long time. And we know that that’s gonna take winning.”
GK JOE BENDIK: “For me, personally, I don’t think you need any motivation. Every time you step on the field should be the same exact way, whether it’s a final, a first game of the season or the last game of the season. You know, this is your job, and that’s what you’re here to do.”
“Yeah, I mean, we added a lot of excellent players and a lot of excellent personalities. You know, when that middle of the season kinda came, I don’t know if maybe we just lost track of it or what exactly happened. Obviously, I knew maybe we wouldn’t have lost, but, you know, we have a lot of strong personalities, and that makes me very, very hopeful that we have a strong foundation here, and we just need to keep at it and keep working at it.”
“You know, we need to change something. I still think that the group of guys that will stay is very, very close to being right there. We’ve showed that throughout the year, how strong we started the season, and also, you know, we had some really strong performances. It was a very roller coaster year, so, hopefully, maybe just a little bit of a mindset change to where we can stay more consistent throughout the entire year where we’re not giving up four goals in one game. You know, maybe just 2-1 or 1-1, 1-0, where we’re not giving up these ridiculous losses. Those really—you know, they’re momentum changers. So, yeah, like I said, just be a bit more balanced throughout the year.”
RB SCOTT SUTTER: “You know, it’s not always easy when you go into the final match, and there’s not much, really, to play for, with regards to points, and I know, obviously here, the playoffs. But you always wanna finish the right way. I think it’s a good opportunity for us to finish the season, despite the disappointment of not making the playoffs, to finish off the right way. And it also, I think, finishing the season in a good, positive way gives us a good kind of start, mentally, for the next season.”
“Well, I mean, obviously, it’s been disappointing, in regards to missing the playoffs. We all set out with that as our aim. It was a realistic aim. You know, we didn’t come out and say we’re gonna win the MLS Cup, but we wanted to make the playoffs. We wanted to be the first team in Orlando’s history to do that. We failed. We didn’t achieve that, what we set out to do. So, in that aspect, it’s been disappointing. For me, on a personal note, I’ve loved, despite the middle of the season where it really cost us, I’ve enjoyed kind of every minute of it other than, obviously, the defeats. But, you know, just the transition to a new team, to a new city—it’s been great for me. I’ve really, really enjoyed being here and transition and how easy everyone made it for me. So, I feel right at home, and, you know, I already can’t wait for next season.”
“Performance-wise, I think, I mean, other than points, obviously, I think we need to be more dominant of opponents. I think we need to really dictate play, not just at home but also away. Keep more of the ball. I think even in the earlier games, where we were getting results, we didn’t have as much possession as we would like to a lot of the times. Couple of results, we kinda got away with it possession-wise where we were struggling to keep hold of the ball, and we kind of just clawed over the line. So, I’d like to see us finish more games out confidently and, you know, with a bit more dominance. So, there wasn’t many, or too many, games where we were 2-0 or 3-0 up and kind of cruising to the end of the [game]. I think there’s like two or three times that that happened, New England being one of them, and they were a man down. So I think I’d like to see that, and I think we have got the players already, and I think, with the coaching staff behind us and maybe a couple of additions in the offseason, I think we will definitely, definitely have that.”
- Team captain Ricardo Kaká will not travel with the team to Philly, as he played in his final Major League Soccer match for Orlando City in a 1-0 loss to Columbus Crew SC on Oct. 15.
- In three seasons with Orlando City, Kaká started 69 of his 75 appearances for 5,958 minutes, scored 24 goals and recorded 22 assists.
- 18’s training was the first time the Lions trained with Kaká no longer officially a part of the team.
HC JASON KREIS: “No, [I don’t think I’ve noticed anything different without Kaká in training]. No. You know, he brings a terrific energy and attitude to every training session. When he’s not here, the guys do the same. I would say that I think the mentality of the players, this year, and what they’ve given every training session has been second to none. So I have no faults there with what they’ve given.”
GK JOE BENDIK: “I mean, you know it’s different. We already—we kinda said our goodbyes to him already. We knew the circumstances that he was leaving, so we’ve probably had a few trainings throughout the year where he’s been injured or he’s not able to participate, so we’ll see next year when he’s not here every single day.”
RB SCOTT SUTTER: “Yeah, this was obviously the kind of first day [without Kaká]. I mean, he’s, you know, despite his ripe, old age, he trained a lot, and he put a lot of work in. He was a top professional. So, I mean, I’ve played with older guys where they turn out half the time, and half the time they don’t. And Ricky never was like that. Early on the season, he struggled with a couple of injuries, so, that aside, he was kind of always out there. So this is the first time that he hasn’t been really around, so it’s definitely a bit different. I mean, his name was still up in the lockers. His kit was all hung up for him. So, it’s sad, but, you know, that’s the way of football. Unfortunately, you gotta say goodbye to these guys, and, obviously, Ricky being the footballer and person that he is, it’s a loss.”
- Forward Cyle Larin, who leads the Lions with a career-low 12 goals this season, did not dress for the Columbus loss, as Kreis cited he was out because of a hip-flexor injury.
- Throughout the 2017 season, there has been significant speculation about Larin and moving him during an open transfer window.
HC JASON KREIS: “[Larin’s] okay. He came out today and was doing some work on his own. Hopefully—I haven’t spoken to the trainer yet, but the hope is that he’ll be ready for training tomorrow and ready for consideration this weekend.”
“Yeah, I mean, [offers for Cyle have] been a talking point, now, since I’ve gotten here. You know, every transfer window that opens, there’s a lot of speculation about whether or not we’d be willing to sell him, about whether or not there’s teams that are making offers, and I would say most of that has just been exactly that: speculation. So, we go into this offseason the same way with our ears open but not desperate to make any changes.”
“Yeah, again, I think it’s far too much speculation for me to even touch [the question of Larin’s fee helping Orlando City rebuild], to be honest with you. We have a fair amount of resources, now. We believe that they’ll—you know, that there may be some change in the league rules as to what kind of resources we can use. There’s just so much up in the air. It’s difficult for me to even kinda go into that question.”
- After a 4-0 win over the Panamanian men’s national team, the United States men’s national team failed to beat Trinidad and Tobago, as the United States failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
- Kreis made 14 appearances for the USMNT between 1996 and 2000, scoring one goal in a friendly, 2-2 draw with the Jamaican men’s national team in 1999.
- Bendik was named to the 40-player preliminary roster for the United States’ Gold Cup roster in early June 2017.
HC JASON KREIS: “Yeah, I mean, there’s so much to talk about with [U.S. soccer]. It’s hard for me to kinda go into it ’cause I think I’d probably get on about a five- or six-minute dissertation for you. I’m like everybody else. I was deeply, deeply depressed the night after that game and the next day. It was disturbing, for sure. But what I tend to look at, now, is I see it as an opportunity. I see that, you know, in my opinion, again, even going back to the last World Cup, I don’t think we performed well, as a national team. I think we were very, very fortunate to make it out of our group, and I think because of that little bit of success, the fact that we did make it out of that crazy group, I think that put a band-aid on a lot of things that we needed to have been talking about and some changes that we needed to have been trying to implement and make. And so I look at this opportunity, now, and say, ‘Okay, we don’t have a competitive game for over a year,’ I think, until the next qualification cycle begins. And so can we be really, really focused on implementing some real change? And just at least having a forum and a discussion about what that should look like.”
GK JOE BENDIK: “I don’t think I didn’t get mentioned. I got called into the preliminary squad back when, you know, our team was doing incredibly well. That, for me—it’s the first time I’ve even been mentioned in there, so it’s a huge positive for me, a huge confidence booster for me as I go into the last game and into the offseason to, you know, see what I can do off the field and to keep training and staying fit to, you know, possibly get into the actual team. So, yeah, I think I’m right there. I just need to keep pushing along.”
- Before the loss to Columbus, forward Carlos Rivas played just 23 minutes in five games.
- Rivas subbed into the loss against Columbus for 33 minutes, recording no shots.
HC JASON KREIS: “Again, [Rivas playing against Philadelphia is] up for consideration. There’s no doubt about it. Interestingly enough, I felt like Carlos went through a patch where he just really was struggling to perform, and he was in the starting lineup, and, from my point of view, he needed a break. And so he’s gotten that break, and, now, just over the last week or so, I feel like he’s really started to come on in training, and so he’s looking like he deserves more minutes. That’s why you saw no hesitation from me in the 55th minute, or whatever it was this past weekend, to put him in. And, yeah, for sure, he’s in consideration for a starting role this weekend—we’ll see.”
- Orlando City will host a friendly against the Puerto Rican men’s national team on Nov. 4 to raise funds for hurricane relief after the ravaging effects of Hurricane Maria.
- Kaká will play in the friendly.
HC JASON KREIS: “To me, it’s a rare occasion when you can actually feel like you’re really, really giving back for something and really being able to do something that’s charitable and that you think is important. So, I look at this opportunity to play this match for our guys to play this last match, to help Puerto Rico as something really serious, and I appreciate it.”
RB SCOTT SUTTER: “I mean, [I’m closely following the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico]. I mean, you really—it’s unavoidable. Especially for me being here, it was the first time I went through something similar. You know, obviously, nowhere near what Puerto Rico, obviously, experienced, but it was huge. I mean, it’s everywhere. It’s all over the news, and you really, really feel for everyone that’s affected by it. I mean, even our kit guy here is from Puerto Rico, and you can just see in his face, when it was going on, there’s a kind of the shock about it. So it’s been a tough time for, I think, everyone that’s been directly and indirectly involved, and I think everyone’s really looking forward to doing their part for the game that we’ve got going on here. I think it’s a great opportunity to do something good for Puerto Rico.”
For more on Orlando City, as they look to close out the season with a win, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
