Orlando City: Fit, firing and flying up MLS standings

Orlando City are fit, firing and flying up the MLS standings. This year’s team has the chance to finally bring playoff soccer to the city of Orlando.

Fans of Major League Soccer tend to forget that Orlando City SC have only been around since 2015. The Floridian side joined the league the same year as NYCFC and are now in their fourth season in top-flight American soccer. There have been signs of promise throughout, like the signing of Kaka or the building of their new stadium, which have created quite an atmosphere on gameday.

The problem is, however, there has not been quite the same success on the field. The club has yet to make the playoffs and finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference last year. However, the current version of the team seems like the best the city has seen and could end up finally getting Orlando into the postseason.

Orlando City had one of the busiest, and most exciting, offseasons in MLS. The moves started before the end of last year, as the team picked up Dom Dwyer from Sporting KC for a boatload of allocation. As many assumed, the transfer was a proactive one. After a messy situation, Orlando lost superstar Cyle Larin in the winter, who made his long-awaited move abroad to Besiktas. The Floridian team started the offseason with some smart transactions, with a focus on adding depth to a relatively thin roster. They acquired players like RJ Allen, Servando Carrasco, Mohamed El-Munir, and Jose Villarreal. However, fans did not have to wait long for the big-name moves to arrive.

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It began with a blockbuster trade as Orlando acquired Sacha Kljestan and $150,000 worth of TAM from the New York Red Bulls, sending Carlos Rivas and Tommy Redding the other way. Two weeks later, they made another big splash, signing highly-touted Paraguayan Josué Colmán to a young designated player contract. Another fortnight saw yet another massive deal as Orlando were able to purchase Columbus Crew winger Justin Meram for over $1 million worth of allocation money. The signings kept coming, as Catalonian center-midfielder Oriol Rosell joined the club soon after. Orlando then ended the offseason with a pair of signings to bolster their backline, picking up José Aja from Vancouver and Lamine Sané from Werder Bremen.

And yet, with all this added weaponry and squad upheaval, Orlando once again got off to a poor start to the season. The Lions opened the year at home, but could not pick up all three points, having to settle for a draw after a last-minute equalizer, and things would only get worse when they suffered a shock home loss at the hands of Minnesota United, before falling to NYCFC at Yankee stadium.

The main reason for this slow start was a slew of injuries to key players. Three offseason signings had to wait until Week 3 to make their debut, with Sane, Kljestan, and Colman all making their debut for the club against NYCFC. Another big absence was Dom Dwyer, who picked up an injury in preseason, and missed the first three games of the season.

Recently, those key players have returned to the field and fans have begun to see a new and improved Orlando team. They were able to put out close to their best starting XI against the Red Bulls, and it was no surprise to see it result in their first win of the season. Kljestan dictated play in the midfield against his former club, while Dwyer scored a brace in the perfect start to his campaign.

Those two ran the show yet again against Portland the following week, helping Orlando come back from two-nil down to win 3-2. Most recently, the Lions picked up another solid win, beating the Union on the road. This was the team’s most impressive performance of the season. The backline, which was entirely made up of offseason signings, kept a clean sheet and stifled a dangerous Philadelphia attack. Up top, it was more of the same. Dwyer grabbed another goal, making it his third straight game on the scoresheet, while Kljestan put it another masterclass, providing two assists to add to his ever-increasing tally. Even the other goal of the game was scored by a newcomer. Rookie Chris Mueller, who was drafted out of Wisconsin University, did very well to power past the Philly defense and finish past all-star goalkeeper Andre Blake.

ORLANDO, FL – APRIL 08: Orlando City defender Lamine Sane (22) during the soccer match between the Orlando City Lions and the Portland Timbers on April 8, 2018 at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando FL. (Photo by Joe Petro/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Orlando, then, is currently riding a three-game win streak, and have shot up to 5th in the Eastern Conference standings. Now, they have their sights on continuing this spectacular run of form. And a quick look at their upcoming schedule shows plenty of promise. The team’s next game is at home as they host a San Jose Earthquakes team that has often struggled away from home. After that, a road trip to Colorado to face the Rapids, who have shown signs of promise this year, but have been wildly inconsistent in the past. And after that, a return home, hosting an RSL side that have conceded five goals to LAFC and four to NYCFC.

If Orlando can keep this win streak going, they could set themselves up for some tasty fixtures down the line. On May 13th, the Lions host rivals Atlanta United, who have looked as good as last year. The fixtures between these two teams last season were absolute crackers, and a matchup this year has the chance to be even better. The following Friday, Orlando must face the toughest fixture in MLS, a trip to BMO Field to face Toronto FC. The reigning champs are in the CONCACAF Champions League final and only improved upon a treble-winning team in the winter, signing players like Ager Aketxe and Gregory van der Wiel.

Next: Atlanta United: 5 things we learned from NYCFC draw

Consistency has been a problem for Orlando ever since the team joined the league. They will have to keep the results coming if they want to cement themselves as a legitimate threat. But if the good times keep rolling, however, this season could be the first time we see playoff soccer in Orlando.

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