Orlando City Stock Watch: Cristian Higuita Breaks Through in 1-1 Draw with Chicago Fire

After a cumulative three-hour delay, the Orlando City Lions left two points on the pitch at home against the Chicago Fire in what was a rain-soaked affair.

With the playoff chase heating up, the point leaves City in the sixth and final playoff spot ahead of Montréal, though the Impact have four games in hand and — at this point in this season — a +0.15 point-per-game differential.

Who does the Stock Watch recognize as rising and falling as the stakes are raised down the stretch?

Rising

Cristian Higuita – Higuita continued to be one of the more influential Lions on the pitch, this time in a much better team effort. As Mane Lander Michael Citro noted when naming Higuita his Man of the Match, the Colombian was influential all over the pitch, channeling what some had perceived as a reckless energy into 85 minutes of controlled chaos, posting a team-high five tackles along with completing six long passes.

The former Deportivo Cali man is heating up when the games are meaning the most. Check out Gavin Ewbank's recent look at the rising midfielder if you haven't yet had the chance.

Carlos Rivas – Higuita’s old Deportivo Cali running mate put forth a strong effort as well, flying all over the pitch as if the rain had somehow made him faster. He was one of three players to post two key passes (Kaká and Cyle Larin being the others), including a gift to the captain at the top of the box that Ricky just couldn’t convert.

His shot is still eluding him to this point, but there were enough positives from the winger to land him in the "Rising" category this week.

Falling

Lewis Neal – Although Neal was his usual safe, accurate passing self, it was his blown chance that we’ll all remember most about his game Saturday night.

A heartbreaking opportunity that sailed high for the veteran midfielder. While Neal usually plays an efficient, safe game, it makes mistakes like these stick out even more.

Luke Boden – I’ve been high on the healthy half of the Killer Bees most of the season, but this was one of Boden’s more forgetful outings. Mostly ineffective on defense and clumsy moving forward, the flashes of strong play weren’t enough to combat the evidence that suggested otherwise.

Yes, he occasionally worked nicely with Rivas on the left, but when you take a look at his 17% successful crossing rate and 10% accurate long passing rate, you see Bodz struggled on either end of the pitch.