Football Season Review

A season that promised much in the opening weeks ended on a disappointing note for Orlando City as they missed out on the playoffs once again, ending the campaign sitting just one place above the foot of the Eastern Conference standings. Orlando started the campaign in a blistering fashion, winning six of their opening seven games to quickly rise to the top of the Eastern Conference. Their form though quickly unraveled and they could only manage just four more victories for the rest of the season which culminated in a heavy thrashing at Philadelphia Union, leaving Orlando well short of their pre-season expectations. Orlando struggled defensively throughout the campaign, managing just seven shutouts while having the joint third worst defensive record in the Eastern Conference, and things would have been worse were it not for Joe Bendik who had a pretty good campaign but was let down time and again by his teammates in front. Coach Jason Kreis has kept his job despite another disappointing campaign and the Orlando coach will need to improve on his defense ahead of the upcoming campaign. With Kaka departing the club during the off-season Orlando will also need to boost their creative options, especially after having buttressed their attack with the acquisition of Dom Dwyer in the second half of last season.

Player of the Season: Joe Bendik