Orlando City has been all about Kaka all year. Everything is Kaka.
Yes there is a team and yes there are lots of reasons Orlando City had been successful, but Kaka is still the straw that stirs the drink. Even at 33 years old, he has established himself as one of the best players in MLS — its All-Star MVP, for crying out loud and All-Star team captain — and a guy who can control a defense just with his presence.
Need proof of that? Orlando City’s 4-1 loss to Toronto FC at BMO Field in Toronto on Wednesday should provide some.
Toronto dominated possession and took advantage of every mistake Orlando’s stretched defense made. Sebastian Giovinco recorded a hat trick, including the game-winner in the 57th minute off a free kick near the penalty area. Again, mistakes did Orlando City in.
Kaka is a master of the midfield and Orlando City struggled to move from defense to offense or gain any traction in the midfield without him there.
The Lions relied more heavily on transition play, trying to send the ball over the top and use Cyle Larin’s ability to hold the ball and make plays behind the defense. The rookie was playing his first game in his hometown of Toronto with a chance to set the MLS record for rookie scoring.
He had his chances early on and continued to be the most threatening player on the Orlando City roster.
It was, however, Luke Boden who recorded the lone Orlando City goal in the 17th minute.
Boden, as he had done for Orlando City in the past including in his USL Pro days with the Lions, struck a beautiful free kick which deflected off the keeper and into the top corner of the net.
That was the lone bright spot offensively for the rest of the night. Toronto FC recorded 21 shots and forced Tally Hall to make five saves on the night.
Giovinco’s brilliance throughout the night put too much stress on the team defensively. He scored on a penalty kick in the 12th minute after Aurellian Collin went to ground in the box on a missed slide tackle. Giovinco scored on another free kick and then added one for good measure in 88th minute.
The scoring and the possession from Toronto FC was just too much to overcome for the undermanned Orlando City team.
In the big scheme of things, this was a rough loss too. Orlando City had a chance to flip back into Playoff position with a win. Instead, Toronto FC collecting all three points catapulted them into third place and leaves Orlando one point back of the Montreal Impact.
The Lions need to collect as many points as possible as things thicken up as the season draws closer to its close.
UCF opens practice
UCF opened its fall football training camp Wednesday as the team prepares to defend its AAC championship from last year.
Despite back-to-back championships in the AAC, the Knights are facing a fair amount of doubters this year. Not everyone seems to think the Golden Knights can maintain the success they have had in recent years.
The AAC media poll placed UCF fourth after last year’s finish. Cincinnati was the media’s favorite to win.
Maybe some of this has to do with George O’Leary’s uncertain future. But there still remains a lot of talent and a lot of experience on the UCF roster, as he said on UCFSports.com.
“I see the older guys taking charge more with senior leadership, and we’re going to put people out there who are ready to play,” head coach George O’Leary said. “When you’re in your helmets and not your shoulder pads, they (still) need to understand it’s a contact game. But for the most part we installed a lot today. We gave everybody a lot of reps. We’ll continue to do that throughout the week to see if we can separate some of these guys.”
The Knights return primary rusher William Stanback after last year performing admirably in 10 games with 697 rushing yards. The junior will be expected to take a step up this year to carry more of the offensive load.
Quarterback Justin Holman will also be relied on to provide a little more composure and experience after passing for 2,952 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last year. He will have to do that without his main weapon in NFL draft pick Breshod Perriman.
