Orlando City Stock Watch: Lions fall to Seattle Sounders 3-1; Antonio Nocerino Continues Improvement in Midfield

Man, that was ugly.

The good times were rolling on early against the Seattle Sounders when Seb Hines scored his header — but boy, did they deteriorate quickly. The Sounders used their speed and precision to harass the Lions en route to a 3-1 victory for the first loss of Jason Kreis’ tenure as head coach.

As always, the Orlando City Stock Watch has your risers and fallers following the result.

Rising

Antonio Nocerino – People seem torn on Nocerino’s play, but given what we’ve seen from him over the course of the season and the overall performance of the club, his stock has to be considered comparatively on the rise.

He was never particularly threatening, but he did complete all nine of his long passes and finished with a 90.7% overall passing accuracy, showing that he's growing more comfortable, decisive, and fluid in possession. No key passes in this one, but he seems to be gaining momentum on that side of the ball.

Defensively, he led the team with five tackles, while the rest of the roster combined for seven. Seattle's speed was tough to deal with, but Nocerino was a bright spot for a defense that featured four matadors on the back line.

Matías Pérez García – Coming on in the 54th minute for Hadji Barry, MPG was immediately effective on just two days of training, making two of his 18 passes key ones and getting the Lions in dangerous positions.

Seeing him fit in the attack seamlessly — while drawing four fouls — is an encouraging sign for our newest Lion.

Falling

Brek Shea – After playing well following a move forward in the formation, Planet Earth’s Favorite Left Back Attacking Midfielder struggled to get going against the Sounders’ defense. Just one key pass in the match, the highlight of Brek’s night was a nice one-touch sequence with Kaká that sent him forward on the right side of the box before earning a corner.

Settling into a new (old) role, he remains one of the more intriguing players for the Stock Watch on a game-to-game basis.

The Back Line – Heading into the transfer window, everybody on planet Earth knew Orlando City needed to address the back line. Against Seattle, we were reminded of that flaw over and over and over again.

Defenders were beat by lobs, through balls, and off the dribble. Bendik faced so many 2-on-1 attacks you genuinely felt sympathy for the guy.

Seb’s goal early was fun, but the defense for Orlando City was not up to par against a team that has found itself near the bottom of the table all season. Who knows — maybe newcomers José Aja and Mikey Ambrose will be part of the solution.

Polling Closed