Orlando City vs Seattle Sounders: Five Takeaways

Orlando City fell to the Seattle Sounders, losing its 21st game of the 2018 MLS season. It was a pair of early goals that did the Lions in last night, falling down 2-0 within the first 15 minutes. Here are my five takeaways from the game.

At Least Scott Sutter Still Cares

Orlando City fell behind quickly against the Sounders, conceding twice within the first 15 minutes. While most of the team appeared to be indifferent to the fact that they were headed for yet another loss, right back Scott Sutter was visibly angry at the early struggles. He also showed energy throughout the game that most of the team lacked, nearly scoring on a shot from about 25 yards out. If only he wasn’t the only one that seemed to care about the team’s results.

Orlando City is Officially the Worst Defensive Team in MLS History

When Víctor Rodríguez scored in the eighth minute of the game, it was the 71st goal conceded by Orlando City, seeing the Lions pass the 2017 Minnesota United team for most goals conceded and officially becoming the worst defensive team in MLS history. The only team with a worse goals-per-game average is the 1998 Tampa Bay Mutiny, but the Lions could end up with the worst goal difference in MLS history. Jason Kreis appears to have been right when he said this team likes setting records.

Hallelujah! The Drought is Over!

In the 57th minute, Scott Sutter sent a low, skipping ball across the box which striker Dom Dwyer one-timed past Stefan Frei and into the back of the net. It was the first goal since Sept. 1 when Sutter scored an equalizer against the Philadelphia Union. That’s more than five and a half games and 506 consecutive minutes without a goal.

Defense Seems Completely Unaware

Watching how unaware the defense was of its surroundings early against the Sounders, it’s no wonder they’ve conceded so many goals. On multiple occasions in this game, defenders attempted to play with the ball inside the box, which wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t under pressure. It seemed as though some of the defenders were completely unaware that they were under pressure inside their own box, and it nearly cost them multiple goals.

Lack of Ideas in the Final Third from Youngsters

This one probably sounds like a broken record, but Chris Mueller and Josué Colmán continue to take on the whole team, appearing to have no idea what to do with the ball. On one occasion, Mueller dribbled himself into being trapped in the corner and immediately gave the ball away. To be fair to Mueller, nobody came to him, but it’s not as though he’s provided confidence in his teammates that he’ll find the open man. As for Colmán, he did attempt to find some shots and had a nice one late in the game. But, like Mueller, he would rather put his head down and charge through the defense than play a through ball. The good news is that these two are still young and hopefully we’ll see some improvements in the near future.

It seems like the same ol’ story every week, but at least there are only two games left in the season. Anyway, that’s what I took away from this game. Let us know what stood out to you.