Orlando City Stock Watch: What Went Right Against the Seattle Sounders?

In what proved to be a tough match for Orlando City, the Seattle Sounders piled on four goals en route to a clean sheet win on national television. While a result like that is always tough to swallow, there are still some positives to take away from any league game.

Rising

Tally Hall – While a fair share did find their way past Hall, he was little more than a band-aid on the severed limb that was City’s defensive play. He really proved his class in the 30th minute when faced with a PK from the lethal Obafemi Martins.

Stopping both the try from the spot and the immediate rebound from Andy Rose with a diving, one-handed stop, Hall did what he could to keep the Lions in the game and in play for points for as long as he was able.

Aurélien Collin – It may be surprising to see a member of the back line rise after giving up four goals, but Collin was relentless in his efforts, with 15 clearances to his name.

We could go on for pages and pages about chemistry issues and playing a man down, but without Collin working the way he did, the result may have been even worse.

Falling

Darwin Cerén – What a night for the El Salvador captain. As one of this season’s most statistically efficient midfielders in MLS, completing just 82% of 39 passes is a startling number to be faced with. Perhaps it was the 4-3-2-1 formation, but Cerén never looked comfortable on the ball.

Defensively, Cerén was almost as ineffective, registering just one tackle against a Sounders attack that lit the club up.

Darwin had been a stalwart in the midfield to this point, so we'll all be looking for a quick bounce back from the talented defensive midfielder.

Tyler Turner – The pacey 19-year-old appeared to be over his head in this one, with Seattle’s rowdy crowd and elite on-field talent to match getting to the youngster early and often.

An ugly afternoon it was, missing almost 40% of his passes and committing four fouls on his way to a first half ejection, leaving City down a man against one of the more potent MLS attacking sides. He's definitely capable of more than this under different circumstances.

Polling Closed