The 2018 Orlando City SC season is the club's eighth season of existence in Orlando, and fourth season in Major League Soccer, the top-flight league in the United States soccer league system. The team plays its home games at Orlando City Stadium.
Video 2018 Orlando City SC season
Season review
Pre-season
On December 17, 2017, Kaká announced his retirement, after turning down offers from former clubs São Paulo FC and A.C. Milan. With the options of several players declined at the end of the previous season, Orlando City set its sights on the off-season to rebuild its roster. The club began the winter transfer window by acquiring midfielder Sacha Kljestan from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for attacker Carlos Rivas and defender Tommy Redding. During this time, it was announced that Orlando City B had elected to not participate in the 2018 USL season, sparking alarm in regards to the club's youth development and depth. Just a few days later, Paraguayan midfielder Josué Colmán signed with the club as a Young Designated Player.
In early January, Orlando City Stadium played host to two games in the 2018 edition of the Florida Cup. This was followed by the club also hosting the 2018 MLS Combine from January 11 to 17, which resulted in forward Chris Mueller being picked by Orlando City in the MLS SuperDraft.
By mid-January, attention shifted to forward Cyle Larin after images of him undergoing a medical with Be?ikta? J.K. were posted on the Turkish club's Twitter account. While Orlando City was aware of the social media posting, no transfer agreement had been made at that time and the club was preparing to take legal action as Larin was still "under contract with Orlando City through 2019." When training camp officially commenced on January 22, Larin was officially absent and appeared training with Be?ikta? in a video released the following day. A week later, Orlando City announced that they had come to terms with Be?ikta? for the transfer of Larin.
Further transfers were made throughout January and February, with a total of 13 new players making the move to Orlando. On February 28, center back Jonathan Spector was named the new captain of Orlando City following Kaká's departure.
March
Orlando City began their fourth Major League Soccer campaign on March 3 at home against D.C. United. Despite Joe Bendik making a penalty save early on, D.C. United opened the scoring in the 32nd minute with a Yamil Asad free kick. In the 41st minute, PC was issued a red card and Orlando City played the remainder of the game with 10 men. The Lions maintained pressure throughout the second half and eventually equalized in stoppage time following a forward run by Jonathan Spector that set Stefano Pinho up for his debut goal, securing a point with a 1-1 draw. Orlando remained at home for its second match, falling 2-1 to Minnesota United following a brace by Ethan Finlay. The club then hit the road for its first away match of the season against New York City FC. This marked the first Orlando City appearances for Lamine Sané and Josué Colmán, who both came on as second half subs, as well as Sacha Kljestan. Despite holding a 0-0 scoreline at half, the Lions ended up falling 2-0 from goals by Ismael Tajouri and Maxi Moralez. Following a two-week hiatus, Orlando City returned home to host the New York Red Bulls. After conceding in the seventh minute, City soon struck back with a tap-in goal by Will Johnson. The Red Bulls regained the lead shortly after, but the Lions equalized once again via a Dom Dwyer header to end the half at 2-2. Dwyer opened the second half with a goal that came from a throw-in assist by Mohamed El Monir. The visitors were able to level the scoreline in the 82nd minute, but a shot from Scott Sutter that deflected off of Colmán made its way into the back of the net and secured City all three points in the club's first victory of the 2018 Major League Soccer season.
April
On April 8, the Lions made team history by securing their first win from a 2-goal deficit, with Dwyer scoring the game-winning goal in the 87th minute for a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory against the Portland Timbers. The result also marked the first back-to-back wins for the club since April 29, 2017. With all three goals scored in the final ten minutes, they lead the league with 23 in the last three seasons, reaffirming the nickname "Cardiac Cats." Five days later, Joe Bendik picked up his first clean sheet of the season to go along with four saves, while Dwyer scored his 99th goal in all career caps, for the Lions' first away win of the season: a 2-0 shutout of the Philadelphia Union. The winning streak stretched to four in a 3-2 home victory against the San Jose Earthquakes, courtesy of goals from Mueller, Kljestan, and Dwyer. Both Mueller and Dwyer's goals were milestones: Mueller's strike came 93 seconds into the match, making it the fastest MLS goal in the club's history, and Dwyer's goal marked his 100th career goal in all competitions. Then, in yet another come-from-behind thriller and their fifth straight win to close out the month, Orlando City defeated the Colorado Rapids with a 2-1 scoreline at the high altitude of DSG Park.
Maps 2018 Orlando City SC season
Roster
- Last updated on April 27, 2018
Transfers and loans
Per Major League Soccer and club policies, terms of the deals do not get disclosed.
Transfers in
Transfers out
Loans in
Loans out
Staff
Competitions
Friendlies
The pre-season schedule was announced on January 16, 2018, outlining five closed-door pre-season friendlies over the course of February. Training camp began on Monday, January 22, for the first of three training sessions before the club traveled to Jacksonville for a 10-day pre-season training camp at Davis Park. The club then relocated back to its training facility at Sylvan Lake Park. A sixth pre-season friendly was played on February 25 against Nashville SC of the United Soccer League.
Major League Soccer
- All times in regular season on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00) except where otherwise noted.
The opening home match was announced on December 19, 2017, while the remaining MLS schedule was released on January 4, 2018. Outside of the club, there were several changes made throughout the league. The most significant change came via the addition of Los Angeles FC as the 23rd franchise in MLS and 12th member of the Western Conference. Orlando City SC will play LAFC for the first time on July 7, 2018.
Results summary
Results
Standings
Eastern Conference table
Overall table
U.S. Open Cup
Orlando City enters the tournament in the fourth round, to be played on June 6. The draw is to be held on May 24. The Lions will be in the midst of a three-game road trip between visits to New York and Canada.
Squad statistics
Appearances
- As of matches played April 29, 2018
Goalscorers
- As of matches played April 29, 2018
Clean sheets
- As of matches played April 29, 2018
Disciplinary record
- As of matches played April 29, 2018
Broadcasting
Orlando City will be featured on national television 13 times during the 2018 season, while all remaining matches will be televised locally on WRDQ. Six of the nationally televised games will be shown on ESPN, tied with three other clubs for the most appearances. Additionally, certain matches will be streamed live on Twitter following the announcement of a three-year agreement between Major League Soccer and the social networking service. In May 2018, the club announced a deal it had made with YouTube TV in which all of its locally televised matches would be streamed live through the subscription service.
English-language radio will be split between WTKS 104.1 and WYGM 740 AM/96.9 FM/101.1-2 HD for the 2018 season, with WYGM airing 18 regular-season matches and WTKS airing 14 regular-season matches. Spanish-language radio broadcasts will be conducted on WDYZ 990 AM.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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