Securing Home-Field Advantage is Vital for Orlando City

We’ve almost arrived at Orlando City’s final regular-season game of 2024. The Lions will take on Atlanta United at home Saturday at 6 p.m., and while OCSC has long since secured a postseason spot, there’s still plenty to play for. Orlando is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference, but that spot is not guaranteed, and the easiest way to lock it down is by beating the Five Stripes tomorrow and eliminating them from postseason contention in the process.

The lowest that the Lions can drop in the standings is fifth, which is currently occupied by New York City FC, but could go to either Charlotte FC or the New York Red Bulls, depending on how Decision Day shakes out. If NYCFC wins and Orlando loses, then the Lions will finish fifth, with NYCFC leapfrogging them into fourth place.

Obviously, OCSC wants to accrue as many points as it can and finish as high as possible in the standings, but with the changes to the playoffs that were implemented last year, the men in purple now have extra motivation to do so. The first round of the playoffs is now a best-of-three series (for some reason), with the higher seed given home field advantage that is manifested by playing the first game of the series at home, as well as the third game if one is necessary. If the first round matchup does indeed end up being against NYCFC, that home field advantage takes on added importance.

That’s because the away game(s) against New York will likely take place at either Yankee Stadium or Citi Field, unless both teams advance to the World Series, in which case the team’s matches will probably be held at Red Bull Arena, the site of the team’s last two regular-season home games. The prospect of playing one game in the shoebox-like dimensions of either baseball field is bad enough, but playing an elimination game in that setting is far from an appetizing scenario. Orlando also doesn’t have a stellar record at Red Bull Arena.

Not only do games on baseball fields make for an unappealing watch for the fans at home, but they also heavily favor the hosts, who are accustomed to playing on the smaller dimensions, and have little issue modifying their tactics to be effective. Visiting teams tend to have a hard time getting results, with New York City only having lost four times at home all year — only one game of which was decided by more than one goal. The Lions have had a particularly horrid time when it comes to playing on the baseball diamond, and you need to look no further than the 4-2 loss back in June to see how things normally go for Orlando in that particular venue.

Compare that to OCSC’s form at home, where the Lions haven’t lost since a 3-1 defeat to LAFC on June 15 —a game in which Orlando gave a very good account of itself despite the result. The Lions have picked up some good results on the road too, but those damn baseball stadiums are a different beast entirely, and the less time OCSC spends in them during the postseason, the better.

In short, it’s important that Orlando takes care of business against Atlanta. The Lions control their own destiny, and getting a solid win against a bitter rival in the last game of the regular season would help to set the tone and energize the fanbase ahead of the postseason, particularly after having some time off for the international break. More than that though, locking up fourth place would ensure the Lions spend as little time as possible in an environment that has been almost wholly unwelcoming to them and would instead see them welcome their opponents into the comfortable confines of their den. Vamos Orlando!