ORLANDO, Fla. -- A little rain wasn't going to dampen Ercan Kara's scoring parade on Saturday.
Earning his first start for Orlando City in nearly two months against LA Galaxy, the big striker rewarded the coaching staff's trust with his first MLS goal of the season in the 38th minute before tacking on a helper on Facundo Torres' second-half marker to punctuate the Lions' 2-0 victory.
Kara's tally -- his first since nailing a world-class bicycle kick against Liga MX side Tigres UANL in Concacaf Champions League play on March 15 -- from Mikey Halliday sent the jam-packed Exploria Stadium crowd of 22,519 into delirium, and helped the Lions to their first home triumph since opening night on Feb. 25.
"First of all, it's like a good feeling for coming back after a while and for the first goal of the [MLS] season," Kara said. "To score is always nice for me. I'm happy we heard the celebrations from the locker room.”
No. 9 wasn't done there, however.
In the 58th minute, Kara linked up with Martín Ojeda, who sent a perfect feed to a streaking Torres for the dagger off Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann and into the back of the net.
"I think the way we play, and how we dominated the game, it’s important for us guys," Kara said. "We know it, we come into halftime inside and everybody had the energy and feeling like that's how we played. That's how the fans want it and that's how we feel comfortable.
"Today, we showed it on the pitch.”
A perfect finish to a statement performance.
