Summer is just around the corner, and the heat is starting to rise.
It could be felt in Saturday’s match at Orlando City Stadium, where the Lions faced off against the Colorado Rapids in the middle of the afternoon. With the heat measuring at above 90 degrees, both teams were certainly facing a challenge.
“I was really interested to see how we would be tonight because I knew coming into it this was our first game above 90 degrees and the last two days of our training have been very hot as well,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “I think our team handled it well.”
But if the heat was difficult for Orlando City, it was monstrous for the Colorado Rapids. The local temperature in Denver was as low as 30 degrees earlier this week.
“It’s tough. That’s just the way it is,” Scott Sutter said. “You just have to know that if we struggle with the heat, the opposition team struggles even more.”
“It was really hot out there and we’re used to training in the heat,” Rivas said. “They’re not.”
While Orlando City does train in the heat every week, Kreis and his team are thinking about how their team is going to handle the increasing temperatures in June and July. He knows that if his team can not only survive in the heat, but thrive in it, the temperatures could be a huge advantage for the Lions at home. He doesn’t have solid answers yet, but it’s something that he is figuring out.
“It continues to be something that I think about,” Kreis said. “I think about how we could best take advantage of the situation and I can tell you that I haven’t come up with any clear answers yet, but we’ll address it as we continue forward. There’s some small things that I think we’re gonna do a little bit differently that I think could put us in a better place.”
One thing that became clear today-- Orlando City supporters won’t shy away from a hot afternoon. With another sellout at Orlando City Stadium, the supporters kept the players going when their energy was drained in the second half.
“A day where you’re a little bit concerned with the heat and how many fans would show up and what their level of enthusiasm would be, but again, second to none performance by the fans,” Kreis said. “We believe very strongly that they’re part of us, we believe that we’re all one big family, and we know that they can help us to get points.”
They certainly did today.
It’s going to be a hot summer. But the Lions won’t let that slow them down-- and neither will their supporters.
