Supporters enjoyed the Orlando City SC win over the New England Revolution. But they may have missed the significance.
Orlando City SC romped over the New England Revolution for a 3-0 shutout. The fact that this strengthens the team’s home performance fits into playoff projections.
Orlando extended their home unbeaten streak to eight games across all competitions. And with the win, the team has scored in six Orlando matches. The Lions are now 11-10-7 overall but 5-5-4 at home.
Building up the home fortifications is key to progressing in the MLS post-season. That’s due to the latest playoff projections.
The highest probability has Orlando City opening the MLS post-season at home against Toronto FC after a first-round bye. With only a slight dip in probability, that opponent would be Atlanta United.
The most dramatic result coming from the New England shutout is that Orlando City’s Goal Differential rose to five. It took until just before this match to get that number to the positive level of one. They’re in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
By not giving up a score, while posting three goals, Orlando City has raised the Goal Differential four points higher. The home scores came from Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (penalty kick), and Duncan McGuire, who had taken the pitch as a second-half substitute. Assists were by Ivan Angulo and Nico Lodeiro.
Torres is now just two scores away from tying Orlando City’s all-time scorer at 44 Cyle Larin. McGuire got his 24th score all-time and tied Dom Dyer for fifth all-time for the club. And he’s one away from tying Kaka for fourth all-time.
Head Coach Oscar Pareja tied Dominic Kinnear for fifth most MLS regular season wins at 170.
Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese posted his eighth clean sheet this year across all competitions.
While it was a shutout, Pareja said it became a difficult game. Facing the difficulty and controlling space gave the team an opportunity for growth. The players didn’t squander the opportunity and contained their opponents in both halves.
They analyzed the pitch on the fly. They identified New England's weaknesses and moved to control those areas.
Orlando City SC will have to continue to quickly read the pitch as they did against the New England Revolution. That’s how they’ll play their way deep into the post-season.