KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Three days after a massive win over Charlotte FC at Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando City SC is right back at it. The Lions head to Washington D.C. to face D.C. United at Audi Field on Saturday night, looking to build on the good momentum the team has generated.
"We're all feeling very good after that great win," defender Zakaria Taifi said at Orlando Health Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park on Friday. "It's just like a new energy that we all have. It doesn't matter we're playing every three days. We're just excited to play again because we want to keep going on this way."
For Taifi and the Lions, the challenge now is keeping the group grounded after a performance that gave the team a boost of confidence. The Orlando-born homegrown has been a central part of the Lions' recent upturn, and he knows better than anyone that a big win can go both ways if the response isn't managed properly.
"You can't be overconfident, and you can't be underconfident," Taifi said. "You can't have like, 'Oh, we won last game, we're up there.' No, it doesn't work. We're still the same, on this path, and we're trying to go like this every time."
The Lions will need that levelheaded approach when facing a D.C. United side that arrives at Audi Field with a boost of their own. Forward Tai Baribo, who was named MLS Player of Matchday 9, delivered a hat trick in Wednesday's 4-4 draw at Red Bull New York, helping his side come back after going down twice. The Israeli international now has six goals in eight appearances since arriving from the Philadelphia Union over the winter, and enters Saturday as one of the league's most dangerous forwards.
"You don't have to think about it too deep," Taifi said on defending D.C. "We know good players. MLS is a good league. You look at individual profiles, you know what they want to do, what they like to do. But at the end of the day, it's your own game. You go out there and just be your best self."
For Interim Head Coach Martín Perelman, the challenge is now to prepare for a team starting to find success. D.C.'s head coach, René Weiler, has helped them find an identity, one that the Lions hope to counteract this weekend.
"DC likes to press," Perelman said. "They have their organization. They are direct in the way they attack. They have pretty good players. So we will be there focused on us, trying to do our game, our game plan."
The other aspect of this game for the Lions has been health. The team will be without five regular starters once again this weekend as they continue to rehab from early-season injuries. Despite that, Orlando has found some consistency in its lineups, with one or two changes in the mix. It's something that has helped Perelman and the team overall through this stretch of matches.
"We have been experiencing a lot of injuries," Perelman said. "Many players have jumped into the field and now they are performing. That makes us stronger within the roster, which, at the end of the day, is the most valuable thing for us. Every game counts. The most valuable thing is our players in general."
Kickoff at Audi Field is set for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the match available on MLS on Apple TV.
Odds and Ends:
- Tyrese Spicer was out at training after missing the last match due to an illness
