Cyle Larin’s hat trick broke the MLS rookie goals record and Orlando City made a statement with a 5-2 win over Eastern Conference-leading New York Red Bulls
Things just seemed so right.
This is how Orlando City was supposed to dominate with Kaka containing things in the midfield, Brek Shea sending searching passes on the counter attack, Carlos Rivas creating pace down the wing and Cyle Larin finishing things off.
And when Orlando City does it again and again, the team can look as good as any other in MLS.
The Lions did that against the New York Red Bulls in Harrison, N.J. on Friday with a 5-2 shellacking of the Eastern Conference’s top team.
Larin finally broke that rookie scoring record. Kaka finally made his return and recorded two assists. Carlos Rivas came in as a sub and tore up New York’s defense with his speed along the left side. He recorded two assists and three shots in 56 minutes.
The Rivas substitution was making a silver lining out of a dark cloud. Rivas was forced into the game 30 minutes in after Seb Hines dislocated his shoulder and had to leave the game. That led to a shuffling on defense, that allowed Orlando City to give up a second goal midway through the second half.
Larin though remained incredible active. And the decision to move Rivas into the midfield and put Luke Boden at midfield paid off in the end.
Rivas provided incredible speed down the width of the field and got behind the defense on several occasions. He then put some perfect passes to the middle of the box for Larin to collect and score. It forced Damien Perinelle into an own goal less than one minute into the second half.
Larin was precise with his finishes too. He was not just the recipient of perfect passes. He finished them perfectly too.
It was the kind of burst and breakthrough the young striker was looking for. And Bryan Rochez added a goal too for good measure to continue his hot streak.
New York was just unable to corral Orlando’s speed throughout the night. It was a difficult time for the Red Bulls defensively.
Orlando City controlled possession for most of the game and had the better attacking opportunities throughout the night. The first goal may have come against the run of play, but the other four goals came because Orlando City picked the right time to attack and made the most of those opportunities.
This is certainly not what Orlando City was doing a month ago while the team languished. The Lions finally had a healthy lineup (albeit for a short time) and used all those weapons as they were seemingly intended. This is how Orlando City imagined its season would go.
And as the radio broadcast noted, when Orlando City is clicking on all cylinders, it can play with anyone.
The Lions have three more games to accumulate points to make the playoffs. With back-to-back wins and a major six-point battle next Saturday against Montreal, Orlando City may be putting itself together at the right moment.
