With the Orlando City Soccer season on the horizon, it's time to take a closer look at team goals for 2018.
The Lions open the regular season on March 3.
Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
1. First things first, Orlando City needs to maintain a HEALTHY roster in the 2018 season. But it won't begin that way, unfortunately.
Dom Dwyer, one of the team's most important players, will sit in the season opener due to a quad strain. He'll likely be out "several more weeks," head coach Jason Kreis has said.
2. Get out to a fast start. There are 13 new players on the roster this year and there's a learning curve they'll need to get past... but hopefully the team can gel quickly and start the season on the offensive.
3. Quickly move past Cyle Larin's dramatic offseason departure.
Orlando City Soccer Season Kicks Off March 3rd
It was an ugly divorce, no doubt. But in the end, the team's leading goal scorer got his way... Larin made his way out of Orlando and into Europe with the Turkish team Besiktas. I didn't think he nor the administration handled the situation with any grace. Alex Leitao even used media day to take one final parting shot at Larin.
“I will start asking you guys to understand and respect the fact that it’s going to be the last time we speak about this player. I’ve been in this business for so long – more than 17 years – so I can testify we didn’t overreact to what happened,” Leitao said. “You don’t see that happen very often this kind of situation for the same reason. For this situation to happen, you need to have one side, a player that doesn’t respect the club, doesn’t respect his contract, doesn’t care about the group, and this was exactly what we saw from Cyle.”
4. Defend Orlando City Soccer Stadium! It's critical the team plays well at home in front of its passionate home fans. It was clear that the fanbase lost some of its 'oomph' last season as the Lions went just 7-5-5 at home.
5. MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. Is it possible? Yes. There is a buzz around the city that the Lions have what it takes to make the postseason, despite the offseason loss of not only Larin but Kaká as well (retirement). According to themaneland.com's Scott Carnevale, "The sky may just be the limit this season for Orlando, which has added proven talent and young prospects in a roster overhaul. On paper, this team has what it takes to win the MLS Cup this year but with a completely new team that will be difficult."
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard Tuesdays from 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game. He can be seen Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30pm on Spectrum Sports 360's Face Off Segment on Spectrum News 13, channel 1013.
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