On Sunday, Midfielder Tony Rocha made his Orlando City debut in a 2-2 draw against the Chicago Fire. After a great start to the year with Orlando City B throughout the season, Orlando City acquired Rocha’s MLS rights from Sporting Kansas City just before the trade deadline. Now, Rocha can take his talent to the next level.
“It’s been amazing to move up from the B team to the A team,” Rocha said after the match. “And to get minutes in this MLS game, I’m thankful and really grateful for this opportunity. I want to build on it.”
Rocha feels that he has already learned a lot from some of the more experienced players in training. “Playing in the center of the park, both Servando [Carrasco] and [Antonio] Nocerino in training have told me where to be offensively and defensively. They’ve helped a lot since I’ve been up.” Rocha’s development is exactly what the organization wants out of the relationship between the MLS and USL squads.
Head Coach Jason Kreis has made it very clear that appearances during games come from the hard work he sees during training. Rocha feels great knowing that Kreis picked him to go in. “It gives me a lot of confidence. It shows me that the coach has faith in me. It helps me go out there and work harder and harder, and whatever minutes I get, I will help the team.”
Rocha and his teammates are happy to take home the point and will be focused on getting ready for their next match when they return to training. “It’s just Colorado next week,” Rocha said. “Trying to get points away from home and continue the momentum. One game at a time. We’re not looking for the applause right now, we’re looking one game at a time.”
