Orlando City at Seattle Sounders: Five Takeaways

Orlando City went all the way across the country on short rest and came away with a point on the road. It’s never satisfying when your club plays to a 0-0 draw, but at the end of the day, any points on the road in MLS are valuable. Here are the things I took from the draw against Seattle.

Pedro Returns

Pedro Gallese returned from international duty, and while he didn’t have a ton to do since Seattle only managed two shots on target out of 16 total attempts, he still made a huge save only a minute into the match. The other came shortly after the start of the second half on a free kick taken by Nicolás Lodeiro. El Pulpo was able to collect it neatly. He generally bossed his area and did his part in earning another clean sheet.

Wasted Chances

Seattle wasn’t the only team that wasn’t sharp in finishing. The Lions took 13 shots with only three shots on target. Duncan McGuire put two shots on target, but Stefan Frei made good saves to keep the score at 0-0. The Lions had seven corner kicks but weren’t able to make anything from them. It was the miss by Mauricio Pereyra that will haunt the Lions over the next few days. When Frei can’t handle the initial shot by Facundo Torres and puts it on a platter for an attacker, the ball needs to go into the back of the net. Pereyra sent it over the goal instead of in, and ultimately that was the best chance Orlando City had on the night.

Duncan Gets the Start

McGuire earned the start on the road following his excellent performance in the match against the Philadelphia Union. Orlando City’s leading scorer wasn’t able to find the back of the net, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort. The rookie put both of his shots on target and if not for the efforts of Frei, he would have added to his six goals on the season. He did well in his hold up play and in pressing the defense. McGuire showed he has all the tools to be a successful in MLS.

A Back-and-Forth Affair

Despite the lack of scoring, this was a fun match to watch. The action was end to end, with both teams doing well to press the attack. It was a bit like two prize fighters going toe to toe, but neither being able to land a decisive blow. Both teams passed at an 81% rate, with Orlando City earning more of the possession at 56%. At times it wasn’t the prettiest performance, but that was due to both teams doing just enough on defense to make it hard for their opponent.

A Point is a Point

As I mentioned above, points on the road in MLS are often hard to come by. Orlando City’s players will certainly feel they should have won this match, but given the scheduling, the travel, and the late start, the Lions shouldn’t feel too bad about the result. Orlando City maintained the seventh position in the Eastern Conference and will get a full week’s rest before back-to-back matches against Chicago and Toronto FC. Sometimes you have to be content with a draw, even if you don’t have to be happy about it.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s draw with the Seattle Sounders. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.