For the second time this season, Sounders FC will square off against an expansion team as Orlando City SC rolls into town Sunday for its first-ever match at CenturyLink Field. With players returning from injury and a bevy of new signings in place following the end of the summer transfer window, the Rave Green are looking to pick up three important points at home.
To preview this weekend’s fixture, SoundersFC.com spoke with Paul Tenorio of the Orlando Sentinel. Before covering OCSC for the paper, Tenorio covered University of Central Florida for two seasons and continues to assist with college and pro football coverage.
Dangerman
Kaká is the guy who pulls the strings. When he’s on the field, Orlando City is a different team. He demands attention from whoever the opponent is. That opens things up for everyone else.
Cyle Larin has really surprised everyone. They had a lot of belief in him when they took him first in the SuperDraft back in January and he’s surpassed those expectations. He’s learned very quickly and already has 11 goals so far this season. He’s shown that he can be a high-level goal scorer in MLS.
A Work in Progress
They have learned a lot about what you need to win in MLS in their first season. Depth is so important and it’s so difficult to build that in just one season in existence.
MLS experience is also important and Orlando City has less of that than any other team in the league. That has come back to bite them at times. The injury bug has hit them hard and at really tough times. Losing Kevin Molino changed the way this team functioned. He was the player creating chances at a very high rate when he was on the field. That was a massive blow and they weren’t ready to replace him.
The drop off between their top 13 players and the next 15 is significant enough that it’s difficult for them to compete when they have call-ups or injuries. It’s a different expansion process for NYCFC and Orlando, but those who are watching this team closely can see that they are having their own struggles.
Favorite Stat of the Season
Darwin Cerén has a great passes attempted/passes completed rate this season. He’s probably one of the most underrated players in the league. They don’t know who he is because he’s a first-year player with the team, but also because he’s in that unheralded defensive midfielder spot underneath Kaká.
He, along with Cristian Higuita, has been the most consistent player on the pitch for this team from game one to game 24. His distribution is great and over the next few seasons, he’ll prove himself to be one of the best in MLS at that position. He’s here at a bargain price and he’s been so important in giving Kaká the freedom to be creative on the ball.
Final Thoughts on SEAvORL
First of all, Orlando is excited to play in a venue like CenturyLink Field. I know for a fact that Kaká talked to Clint Dempsey about it at the MLS All-Star Game in Colorado. That got him excited for this trip.
The team is used to playing in front of 32,000 each week and they’ve drawn large crowds at the Citrus Bowl.
Both teams can look very different this week. Orlando City can be starting two players they picked up in this window and two they picked up previously. Seattle has made signings in this window and they’ll be available as well.
The Sounders also have players coming back from injury so for me, I’m interested in seeing how Seattle lines up and how Orlando adjusts to a team that will look very different than they have in their last ten games.
There are so many unknowns for this Seattle team and that’ll be a challenge as Orlando prepares for Sunday’s match.
