“Just another three easy points right?” Jason Kreis said after the match, laughing. “All in the cards and no problems for us.”
That was Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis’ reaction to his team’s 2-1 win over the L.A Galaxy, their fourth consecutive win at home. Of course, Kreis was kidding. But it’s hard not to believe his words when the Lions are off to their best start in club history.
With their four wins at home, the Lions have taken a total of twelve out of a possible fifteen points this season, with their lone loss coming from a road match against the Columbus Crew. Four home wins is their longest home winning streak for a season in club history, and Orlando City became the first team to earn four consecutive wins at home to open a new MLS stadium.
The success comes after Kreis’ first offseason with the team, where he brought in veteran players like Will Johnson and Jonathan Spector. These leaders have stepped up and helped the Lions improved their game, but the effort from the whole team has shown in every match. The men don’t plan on slowing down.
“We were good together in the offseason, we got to know each other on and off the field, and now it’s paying off,” Cyle Larin said. “I think it’s just going to get better and better throughout the year. We just have to keep going.”
The Lions are hoping that this could be the start of something special for them and the city of Orlando. But they’ve only played five matches, and the road ahead of them will definitely pose some challenges.
“There’s no trophies in April or May or June,” Will Johnson said after the match. “We’re setting ourselves up to try to do something special. And I think that’s a good way to put it. This has the potential to be the start of something pretty cool here. But there’s a heck of a long way to go.”
Kreis echoed Johnson’s sentiment. He has spoken a lot throughout the start of the year about forming a new identity here in Orlando. But that identity isn’t just about breaking records and earning wins.
“I don’t know if I want to be too focused on results, saying that ‘winning’ is our identity. Because it’s not. The winning comes from what we want our identity to be, which is a willingness to give anything and everything for our fans, in this building, to make sure that we win games,” Kreis said. “The winning will come because of that. And so, I wouldn’t say that the winning is part of our identity. The identity is the willingness to do whatever it takes.”
Championships might not be won in April or May. But those wins sure do help come October.
