ORLANDO, Fla. – When Jason Kreis finally assembled the roster he desired for Orlando City SC ahead of the 2018 season, he, perhaps, did not expect this kind of start.
The Lions have managed just one win in their first four matches, so far allowing the second-most goals (eight) in the Eastern Conference. Compared to last season, when City started 3-1-0 in their first four games and 6-1-0 in their first seven, the Lions’ early-season struggles seem to superficially spell doom for a season that has just begun.
For Kreis, however, some of the early-season success of 2017 wasn’t deserved. After all, the Lions only managed to win three more games from May to the end of the season.
“I felt like, last year, we started out with tremendous results, but the truth of the matter is I don’t know that we necessarily deserved all those results; I don’t know that we were a team that had more to give and to improve on those performances,” Kreis said after training on April 4.
Now, in 2018, Kreis believes the Lions deserve more than their current four-point total. But it’s not only what he sees as positive performances that are supporting his belief; it’s also his team’s potential to improve, something last year’s team didn’t have.
First, City managed a season-opening draw with 10 men against D.C. United; their next two games were a loss to former City head coach Adrian Heath’s Minnesota United FC and a road shutout by Kreis’ former club, New York City FC.
The Lions’ fortunes then changed in their most recent match against the New York Red Bulls. Kreis’ side mustered just two goals in three games before facing New York but doubled that mark with four goals against a Red Bulls side that had allowed only one goal in their first three games.
“I feel that our performances have been very good,” Kreis said. “Haven’t gotten the results we deserve, and the fact of the matter is we have a lot of room to improve still. So, I think, for me, that bodes for incredibly positive things.”
Second-year Lion Scott Sutter has a mindset similar to Kreis’. For the starting right back, early-season success doesn’t matter if the team doesn’t improve on it. He also looks at City’s early-season shortcomings with a “glass half-full” perspective.
So far this season, Sutter has started all three of his appearances for 254 minutes, recording one game-winning assist.
“I’d be lying if I say [the start of the season’s] not important because every game, every point matters,” Sutter said after training on April 4. “At the end of it, it might be the difference between one point or not or even goal difference. So, everything’s big, and we just know the season’s long.
“So it’s not necessarily that we lost, you know, two games. It’s we learn from those experiences…and that’s how it should be the way forward. And the season’s long. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as people say.”
The Lions return to action on Sunday at 4 p.m. against the Portland Timbers. Portland has yet to win a game this season, playing all four of their 2018 matches, so far, on the road. City will be the fifth road game of the season for the Timbers before they host Minnesota on April 14.
For more on the Lions, as they look to start their first winning streak of the season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
