Orlando City completed another closed-door friendly with a largely Orlando City B-filled squad defeating the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-0 on Wednesday at Sylvan Lake Park. The Lions will take on Brazilian side Esporte Club Bahia at the Orlando Citrus Bowl in the public’s first home viewing and last chance before the March 6 home opener against Real Salt Lake.
The season is quickly approaching for this team and there are still more than a few things to sort out with Orlando City before everything begins.
There are a few things that are very certain though. Kaka can still be a great playmaker and work well in the midfield to create offense. Cyle Larin is probably going to match his strong rookie season with another big year up top for the Lions. And, unlike last year, there appears to be some very good depth all around.
Better than last year at least.
The expectation for this team is to make the Playoffs and take some improvement from last year. Orlando City has to continue to grow and continue to meet and surpass expectations for the team. Last year was meeting expectations, perhaps the first time the team has done merely just that on the field since it came into being.
Orlando City is not going to be an automatic lock to make the postseason run. A lot can still go wrong and a lot will still have to fall in place. There are still a ton of unanswered questions — many of which cannot be answered until the season starts — that need answering in the next week and a half.
There is just that last friendly Saturday to go before things get real. And so it is time to ask and answer a few of these questions.
1) Is Kevin Molino up to full speed?
It has been a story Orlando City fans have followed fairly consistently all year. The fans have been waiting for Kevin Molino to get back onto the field for several months now. Really ever since he went down, fans have been pining for him to come back.
Kaka is brilliant in the midfield, but it was also clear defenses had firmed their focus on the middle of the pitch to stopping Kaka. They began bottling him up. And while Brek Shea is a threat on the wings, he does not provide nearly the scoring or attacking threat Molino can.
While Molino had not scored a goal in his short MLS career — seven games before the injury in the friendly with Ponte Pedra where he tore his ACL — he was still looking like a MLS player. For someone coming up from USL PRO, Molino looked like he belonged. It was only a matter of time.
The reports on Molino so far are that he is looking very good, although he probably cannot play a full 90 minutes yet. Molino can be aggressive and pairs well with Kaka. The two have great chemistry on the field and give Orlando City a real good offensive attack through the central midfield.
If Molino can get back to the aggressive level he was at before the injury, that makes Orlando City all the more dangerous. It almost feels essential even with Adrian Winter as a reliable option. We will get to that.
2) Who plays at center back?
The center back position has been one of the biggest preseason competitions. Aurelian Collin and Seb Hines seem to be the likely guys to fill the role, but both have had their moments of being really shaky and Adrian Heath has looked at a number of options.
David Mateos, free agent acquisition Kevin Alston and maybe even Servando Carrasco could all compete for the spot. But this is not a position of strength for Orlando City.
The Lions gave up a lot of goals last year and a lot of it was because of the inconsistent play in the middle. Rafael Ramos and Brek Shea are both strong options on the wings and provided they can stay on the pitch, they will be locking down those positions. Luke Boden works well on the wings too when Shea plays in the midfield.
Last year, especially early on, Collin was a rock in the middle of the field. But he seemed to wane some as the season went on. While the Lions have tried a few different combinations, it seems certain Collin is going to hold that spot down.
Next to him can be shaky.
Hines is still growing and developing and made a few key mistakes in his time as a starter but began to settle down in the midfield.
The Lions could pull some midfielders into the central defense, but that can also be incredibly risky. Carrasco could be developed into a center back in a pinch. Maybe newcomer Antonio Nocerino can spotlight off the bench or even Carlos Rivas.
Maybe Orlando City is waiting for Tommy Redding to mature enough to take this role. But for now, the center back position seems to be Orlando City’s biggest weakness.
3) Can Joe Bendik man the net?
With that in mind, the question then turns to goalkeeping.
Last year, Orlando City had a really strong goalkeeper in net with Donovan Rickets and then Tally Hall. Both were solid veterans who could organize a defense and make big saves when called upon. They were rock solid in net. It felt like most of their goals came from defensive mistakes rather than their own.
It was surprising for Orlando City to let Hall go this summer in what seemed like a cap-cutting move — especially with Hall coming off a torn meniscus just a year after returning from tearing his ACL. And so questions are out there about where Orlando City goes in net.
It is clear there is a hole there and some competition. It seems that Joe Bendik will be the starting goalkeeper, beating out youngster Earl Edwards, Jr. Edwards just probably is not ready for the lead role.
Neither may Bendik though.
Bendik has never been a full-time starter in MLS despite ample years of experience and was Toronto FC’s backup goalkeeper last year. It is a question of whether he can step into this role with a defense that has been a little shaky.
Bendik appears to be the best option with essentially two rookies behind him. But for Orlando City to make the playoffs they will need a lot of leadership from Bendik and the back line.
4) Where else will the offense come from?
This was the big question throughout all of last year and why it is so important for Molino to get back to full health. When push came to shove last year all the offense came from Kaka creating in the midfield and Larin finishing in the box. There were few scorers on the team.
There were signs of progress and hope last year. Darwin Ceren and Cristian Higuita got more involved as the season went on and were much more aggressive and engaged. Carlos Rivas really began using his speed to disrupt defense and put pressure on them throughout the latter part of the season. Even Adrian Winter on the wing began making dangerous forays into the box and sending some strong strikes on net.
Add back in Kevin Molino who has a scorer’s mentality and the baility to put the ball into the back of the net, and that should mean Orlando City’s offense is much improved.
Because Kaka can still create a lot of magic in the midfield from the center of the pitch and Larin should still be able to score at a pretty high rate when the opportunity arises.
5) Has the youth calmed down?
A major storyline throughout last season was Orlando City’s overall youth. Nowhere could that be seen more than in the cards and bookings the team picked up throughout the season. Even for the opener, Orlando City will be without a player on yellow card accumulation dating back to last year.
Getting better composure from players like Rafael Ramos in those situations with officials will be a big part of the revival this season. Certainly Orlando City has to shed a bad reputation with officials.
But more than that, Orlando City just needs added maturity and growth and consistency from several of their young players. Guys like Hines and Larin need to continue to grow and gain confidence. The team will likely need something from rookies Hadji Berry and Richie Laryea at some point this season.
A lot of players will have to mature and grow quickly for Orlando City to accomplish its goals this year.
