ORLANDO, Fla. – With only seven games remaining in the regular season and with their playoff hopes looking ever slimmer, Orlando City SC are vowing to continue to fight for full points – even if that means playing only for pride.
The Lions started the season brightly, running out to a 6-1-0 start to claim an early lead in the Eastern Conference. They’ve been in a tailspin since the start of May, however. They’ve only recorded two wins in their last 20 matches and enter Saturday’s game at D.C. United (7 pm ET; MLS LIVE) on an eight-game winless streak.
The extended slump has dropped Orlando from the top of the table to out of the playoff picture, with the Lions currently in 10th in the East. They’re five points behind Atlanta for the conference’s sixth and final playoff spot, and have played three more games than the Five Stripes.
While their hopes look bleak, OCSC head coach Jason Kreis is demanding that all his players continue to fight throughout the remainder of the season.
“From my point of view, pride better play a part in every single game that we play,” he said after Wednesday’s training session. “These players need to be proud about what they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked this year.
“They need to go into every match expecting that they’re basically on trial because we are. We’re professionals, we get paid well to do what we do, and if we don’t do a good job, they’ll give the job to somebody else. It’s same for the players and coaches, all of us should know that.”
Despite the bad run of games, defender Scott Sutter said that the Orlando locker room is still optimistic. The veteran right back said it’s been tough keeping a positive mindset, especially after losses, but that the team don’t have any other options.
“It’s definitely tough. There’s moments where the positivity does waiver, especially right after a loss, it’s difficult to stay positive when you lose 4-0,” said Sutter. “There’s no real way forward other than stay positive because if you’re negative, it’s definitely not going to get better.”
Sutter acknowledged that the club’s playoff hopes are fading, especially after their 4-0 loss at New England last Saturday. Playing with pride could prevent a similar result at D.C., who would pass Orlando and put the Lions in last in the East with a win on Saturday.
“That’s the main objective. It’s definitely a pride thing, and you don’t want to be at the bottom of your conference, absolutely not, and we’ll do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen and take it from there,” said Sutter.
