In soccer, as in any sport, home field advantage can be critical. Defending your home and having your fans cheering you on can change the momentum and the emotion of the game. In 2017, Orlando City will have some key stretches of home games-- at other times, they’ll be on the road for nearly a month. Here is an analysis of some of the most important home and away matches in the 2017 season.
March-April, The Early Going
Orlando City will start their season at home, opening their brand new soccer-specific stadium. They will face off against New York City FC, Orlando City’s league rival, and getting points out of this match will be critical to starting the season on a high note. For most of March and April, the schedule bounces back and forth between home and away matches. Both LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids will be crucial matches in which home-field advantage could make a big difference. The Rapids finished second place in the Western Conference last season, making it all the way to the Conference Championship before losing to the Seattle Sounders. And the last time the LA Galaxy travelled to Orlando, the Lions won 4-0. These matches will lead Orlando into the jam-packed month of May.
May, Seven in Thirty-One
May is a very busy month for Orlando City, who will play seven matches across those 31 days. Of those seven matches, four of them will be away matches. At the start of the month, Orlando City will play Toronto FC and just three days later they will play a match in Houston. The same is true the following week, when Orlando City will host Sporting Kansas City, then travel to San Jose, and then come back home to host New York City FC over the course of eight days. The schedule will start to slow down towards the end of the month, and the final match in May against D.C United will start a three-game home stretch for the Lions.
June, Conference Showdowns
Orlando City’s schedule for the month of June is split in half-- they’ll play two home matches to start the month (for a total three game home stretch) and three away matches to end the month. The three matches in the home stretch are all conference matches. Orlando will host D.C, Chicago, and Montreal. They’ll hit the road at the end of the month, with another three game away stretch over the course of seven days that includes matches in Seattle, Chicago, and Salt Lake City. Orlando City will have the benefit of already facing Chicago two weeks earlier at home, but the road trip will definitely be a test of the Lions endurance.
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July-August, Home and Away
After a busy schedule in May and June, Orlando City will slow down in July with only three matches, two of which will be played at home. The only away game will be the match against Atlanta United, which will still be close enough to home to garner travelling support. Also, Orlando City will be playing Atlanta in back-to-back matches, and will be able to get a feel for the squad when Atlanta travels to face Orlando at home. The match against Atlanta, however, starts another three-game stretch of away matches. Orlando City will travel to Atlanta, Montreal, and New York before returning home for two matches at the end of the month. Thankfully, Orlando City will have roughly a week to prepare for each of their away matches, giving them time to adjust and rest.
September-October, Home Stretch
After two home matches to end the month of August, Orlando City will hit the road for another three-game away stretch. Again, Orlando City will have at least a week between matches, travelling to D.C and Atlanta before crossing the country to Portland. After facing Portland, Orlando City only has three days until their home match against the New England Revolution. The match against the Revolution will give the Lions a three-game home stretch to bolster their points before the end of the season. City’s final home match will be Sunday, October 15th against the Columbus Crew. They will travel to Philadelphia for the final match of the season on Sunday, October 22nd.
