Things are about to get very busy for Orlando City.
The Lions are set to play eight games in a span of just 26 days, beginning with Wednesday night’s clash in Washington against DC United. The Lions will average a game every 3.25 days. Orlando will see both Columbus and Philadelphia twice, once home and once away, with visits from both New York sides and a trip to Portland in the offing as well.
Orlando will travel 8,670 miles in the 26-day span, with more than half of that total coming from their cross-country trip to Portland (5,060 miles). The Lions will have no more than four days of rest between any game, and will play on two days rest four times—at Columbus, at Philadelphia, home to Columbus, and home to Red Bulls. Seven of the eight games are MLS regular season play, six of those seven being critical contests against Eastern Conference teams, while NYCFC will come to Exploria Stadium for a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal on July 10.
This is a historic run—it is the single busiest eight-game stretch in Orlando City history. The Lions have never played eight games in fewer than even 30 days before.
Orlando have been blessed with relatively good injury luck this year, though issues remain. Dom Dwyer has been in and out of the group, while Cristian Higuita suffered a hamstring injury in last week’s Open Cup game against New England that will keep him out for the near term, per head coach James O’Connor.
The Lions are also missing several players on international duty, at least in the short term. Sebas Mendez’s Ecuador did not advance from the group stage in Copa America, and the midfield dynamo should return imminently. Backup goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh should also come back shortly from Trinidad & Tobago. Orlando’s two Canadian players, Will Johnson and Kamal Miller, will be gone a bit longer, as Canada qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup knockout rounds.
So how will O’Connor manage the stretch? Perhaps we can look to the May 15 game against Seattle for a preview. Having played three days prior in Atlanta and then flown across the country, O’Connor opted to change every player for the Sounders game, starting a front three of Josue Colman (since departed on loan for Cerro Porteño), Santiago Patiño, and Benji Michel, with Danilo Acosta and Kyle Smith coming in at full back and Ranjitsingh in goal. The rotated team put up a good fight against one of the league’s best sides, falling 2-1 after a spirited second half comeback attempt. Orlando were then able to come out fresh against Cincinnati at the weekend, crushing the MLS newcomers 5-1 in a statement victory.
There will be a couple opportunities for O’Connor to rotate his squad and prevent further losses to the team’s depth. Away to top-of-the-East Philadelphia, coming just three days after the home game against the Union, and away to Portland, the seventh game of the stretch and across the country against a top opponent, would seem to be the obvious two, though O’Connor is not afraid of surprising us.
Keeping the team’s veteran players like Nani, Lamine Sane, and Sacha Kljestan fresh, as well as Johnson when he returns from Canada, will be key. You can expect to see every single fit player in the team at least once over the course of the eight games—this is the sort of stretch you can navigate only if you have contributions from everyone.
There is a massive opportunity here for Orlando to rise well above the red line and announce themselves as a contender in a wide-open Eastern Conference. The Lions remain one point out of a playoff spot going into this eight-game run, and the club have won four of their last five games in all competitions.
The challenge is there. It’s time for Orlando City to answer it.
