What Does Orlando City’s Rocky Start Mean for the Rest of the 2019 Season?

Orlando City hasn’t had the best start to the season. With only one win in their first five games, the Lions sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference table. But does this rocky start to the season mean anything?

The Best Start with a Bad Ending

Since Orlando City joined MLS, its best start to a season was in 2017. In what was their third season in MLS, the Lions managed to win four of their first five games.

• Orlando City 1-0 New York City
• Orlando City 2-1 Philadelphia Union
• Columbus Crew 2-0 Orlando City
• Orlando City 1-0 New York Red Bulls
• Orlando City 2-1 LA Galaxy

Even though they were off to a hot start and looked like they would go on to have a promising campaign, the Lions were only able to grasp six wins from their remaining 30 games and finished 10th in the East with 39 points.

Same Start, Better Ending?

Orlando City is currently sitting in seventh with a record of 1-2-2 in its first five games this season, but this isn’t the first time this has happened. In their first MLS season, the Lions also started with a 1-2-2 record, which also coincidentally had a D.C. United victory in the fifth game, just like this season.

• Orlando City 1-1 New York City
• Houston Dynamo 0-1 Orlando City
• Orlando City 0-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
• Montreal Impact 2-2 Orlando City
• Orlando City 0-1 D.C. United

The Lions went on to win 11 more games that season and finished seventh in the East with 44 points, just five points short of a playoffs spot — not a bad campaign for their first season. With the same record so far, and with a much better squad in my opinion, I believe Orlando could have a better ending than that of the 2015 season.

So yes, Orlando City didn’t get off to a hot start this season, but we shouldn’t dwell too much on it. As you previously saw, Orlando has had a great start before and ended up in a pretty bad spot. When the Lions had a rocky start, they ended up not doing too badly. There’s still plenty of time and games left to improve and even make it to the playoffs — I believe Orlando has the squad to do it. Yes, there will be times that won’t look too good for the team, but we’ll slowly see the improvements. Like my good friend and team captain says, baby steps are still steps. Let’s be patient, trust the process, and the team.