ORLANDO, Fla. – When midfielder Cristian Higuita entered the 2018 preseason, the team wasn’t happy with his fitness level.
That and a preseason knock kept him off the pitch for four of Orlando City SC’s first five matches. His lone appearance at the time came in a 2-0 road loss to New York City FC on March 17 in which he started and played 67 minutes.
But on April 13, in Orlando City’s 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union, Higuita put together a praise-worthy performance to help the Lions secure their third-straight win of the season. He played 61 minutes off the bench and did more to improve his intra-squad stock.
Midfielder Will Johnson, who moved to right back when the 24-year-old Colombian entered the game in the 29th minute, doesn’t see the same Higuita he saw last season.
“He seems different to me this year,” Johnson said after training on April 17. “He seems more focused, more engaged, more ready, a little more mature. I think sometimes we forget how young he is and inexperienced, and, you know, we continue to support him and help him grow because we know what he’s capable of.”
In seasons past, Higuita, perhaps, did not display the newfound maturity acknowledged by his teammates and coaches. He accrued 27 yellows and two red cards from 2015, the club’s inaugural Major League Soccer season, to 2017.
And despite starting the fewest games of all returnees to the Lions’ roster, not including mid-season acquisitions, he still accrued the most yellow cards of that group.
Though, every season since 2015, Higuita has reduced his yellow-card count, perhaps indicating his growth. His 2017 total of eight yellows was a career-low, as he warranted nine and 10 yellow cards in 2016 and 2015, respectively.
“Honestly, I’m really thankful to [my team] because they helped me grow; they helped me mature,” Higuita said, translated from Spanish, after training on April 17. “And I feel like I can give a lot more for them.”
For head coach Jason Kreis, he’s always seen Higuita’s aggressiveness and physicality. Kreis, in fact, is a fan of those qualities. What needed to change, though, was Higuita’s reactions to negative outcomes, something Kreis has tried to instill in his team, in general, since his first full season last year.
“What we needed to tone down was the reactions,” Kreis said after training on April 17. “And so what he does proactively in closing things down–he’s aggressive and physical–we like all that stuff.
“It’s the reactive stuff that when something goes wrong out there, when he makes a bad play, or when somebody else makes a bad play, or maybe when we get into a tactical situation where we have to struggle for a little bit, it’s his reaction to those that I think that situation, in particular, is improving this year.”
In total, Higuita took one shot, suffered three fouls and conceded two in the win over Philly. He was mostly used on the defensive end, freeing up midfielder Sacha Kljestan for more-attacking moves.
Just nine minutes after Higuita came into the game, Kljestan tallied his first and only assist of the night, helping forward Dom Dwyer score the opening goal.
Despite his game-changing performance, Higuita hasn’t let the attention or early-season success get to him.
“I’m honestly very calm. I know I played a good game, but it’s not enough. I know I can give a lot more,” Higuita said. “We have many games ahead of us, and we’re gonna continue growing, continue improving, and hopefully it continues this weekend when we get three points.”
Higuita and the Lions will have an opportunity to extend their winning streak to four wins on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they host the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose is 10th in the West with a 1-2-2 record.
For more on the Lions, as they try for their third four-game winning streak in club history, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
