On Saturday, Orlando City will travel to RFK Stadium in Washington D.C to face D.C. United in a match that has massive playoff implications. D.C. United is currently tied with Orlando City at 34 points, and have an edge in the table due to their total number of wins. A win against D.C. United is critical for Orlando City’s playoff push, but it will not come easily.
“We have everything to play for here. Two games left against D.C, so we need to take full advantage of this one,” Joe Bendik said after training on Wednesday. “We’re fighting for that line and that playoff spot, and it happens to be that the team we’re playing is doing the exact same thing… so that’s all the motivation we need.”
“They’re a team that doesn’t quit. I think the last two games they’ve been losing and they’ve come back and tied in the last seconds,” Brek Shea said. “Those teams are always hard to play against, the ones that never give up. So, that’ll be a fun game. Especially for us, because we need to get a result there.”
D.C. United has earned a 2-2 draw in their last two matches, earning the equalizer against Chicago in stoppage time and coming back from 2-0 against the New York Red Bulls a few weeks ago. But Orlando City has their own history of late match goals, so this one is likely to go down to the wire.
“I think in this league, there’s a lot of fighting, comes down to the very end for a playoff spot,” Shea said. “But it doesn’t matter if you get in first or last, you’re in it and it’s a fresh start for everyone once you get in.”
For Orlando, the match against D.C. is the first of two remaining in the season. Neither of these teams appear to be giving up any time soon-- the contest could all come down to the last couple of matches.
“I think we can do it if we play like I know we can,” Shea said. “We know we’re a better team.”
