Orlando City SC’s first checklist item is complete.
With Saturday’s 3-1 win at FC Dallas, the Lions are heading to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the fifth straight year. Now, Orlando’s final three games are all about securing home-field advantage for the Round One Best-of-3 series.
“We aren’t done yet. We still have a journey to navigate,” head coach Oscar Pareja said post-game.
“The boys are in a good mentality. Today, we're going to celebrate that the team qualified one more time, and then try to qualify in the best position and standing. That will be the next objective.”
Lofty expectations
Before MLS is Back weekend, Orlando were discussed as a potential Supporters’ Shield contender. They were runners-up for that trophy in 2023, reinforcing the roster alongside stars like Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire.
However, Orlando won just four games through the season’s first four months, falling well short of expectations.
Fast forward and the Lions are enjoying a 9W-3L-1D stretch. They’re now fourth in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.
“I will remark on two things,” Pareja explained. “The first one is, and I know it's not natural, but we forget in the first semester we had a lot of challenges in completing the lineups just due to absences, and the Copa América, the Euros and the qualifications for the World Cup, the call-ups.
“We also have a few players that are very important for us right now that were in that period of adaptation. I recognize, too, that I was looking for the best formation, and sometimes that probably didn't help us. But all those things made us not get the best of results.”
Trust the process
Still, Pareja was confident that the Lions’ full potential would surface in due course.
“Despite that, we really played well in many of those games that we didn't win,” Pareja said. “But now we have found the cohesiveness and the connections again. I think the endurance that the boys had during the year is an honor to see. I think the heart they had put for this club is great, and they had transformed again the season.”
When Orlando’s postseason journey begins, they’ll be looking to make history. The club, now in their 10th MLS season, has never advanced past the Conference Semifinals.
“I think over each and every single year, we've proven that we continue to work and try to achieve those goals that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year,” said defender Rodrigo Schlegel.
“We work through the entire year. We continue to push even when things aren't going well. So, I think for me, that's the thing I've seen the most, is just the consistency in the work that this group continues to put in each and every day.”
