ORLANDO, FL. — Pain.
Orlando City SC came painfully close to the goal they set out to complete. They were hosting, playing a lower-seeded team and had been the hottest team across the league heading into the match, but just as Head Coach Oscar Pareja said last year, when the Lions fell to the eventual champion Columbus Crew: "That's fútbol."
In all honesty, this season ending the way it did feels a lot like last year. The biggest difference is that this year, Orlando was just one game away from MLS Cup.
The Lions will rue the chances they had in the first half, they'll look back at the foul that led to the Red Bulls lone goal and question the decision-making. At the end of the day, however, soccer can be a cruel game, and the Lions again find themselves on the outside looking in.
At the same time, however, there has been a lot of joy from this season. From going to the bottom of the conference in June to finishing the season in fourth and having home-field advantage through the entire playoff run is an incredible accomplishment. Captian Robin Jansson touched on that fact after the game.
"Sometimes you can just lie flat, or you can grab the problems and try to fix them," he said. "And that's what all of the guys, the staff, the support we have around us, did. We managed to come together and go on the same path."
It was an emotional end of the game for the Lions faithful, both players and fans. Tears were shed, hugs were shared, and thanks were given all around. The hardest part of the postgame for the players and fans was watching the New York Red Bulls lift a trophy and celebrate at Inter&Co Stadium, their home. Many of the Lions players stayed out on the field to watch the trophy lift.
"It's difficult today to talk about it. Our frustration is bigger, and we are beaten inside," Pareja said after the game. "We did have a bunch of things that we would be proud of, and we will feel that this club is growing in a great direction. But I'm not going to mention it today because my frustration is bigger than that."
Ultimately, the togetherness of this team was what got them through the tough times through the season and even today, this team will help each other come back from this disappointment stronger next year. If history has anything to say about it, steady progression is in the Lions' future.
But for now, the team end their season one week early on the cusp of reaching the goal they set out for back in January.
"It's so painful," Pareja said. "We will die for this club, and today, we have to accept that we're not in the final."
