Orlando City will make their first appearance in an Eastern Conference final on Saturday when they host a New York Red Bulls side few expected to be there.
Fourth-seeded Orlando dispatched ninth-seeded Atlanta 1-0 in their conference semifinal on Sunday via a late first-half goal from Ramiro Enrique scored in the aftermath of an uncleared corner kick.
With Miami, Columbus and Cincinnati all losing in their Round 1 series, Orlando is the top remaining seed in the East.
Manager Oscar Pareja has led Orlando to the MLS Cup playoffs in each of his first five seasons with the club after the Lions failed to make the postseason in any of their first five years in the league. Pareja, who has the most MLS wins without an MLS Cup Final appearance, understands how precious this opportunity is.
“This is history that needs to be written,” Pareja said. “It’s a new game with the importance to get a championship, but also to advance to the MLS Cup Final. So we will be prepared. The boys are ready.”
Orlando finished winless against the Red Bulls in the regular season, having drawn 1-1 at home on March 30 and lost 1-0 at the Red Bulls on June 1.
But the Lions have been a far better team since Aug. 31, winning six of their final eight league games to improve their playoff positioning.
The seventh-seeded Red Bulls won only three regular-season matches following that June 1 clash before finding better form as the playoffs began.
That dip in form coincided with the absence of Emil Forsberg, who missed several months with a foot injury before recovering just in time for the postseason. Forsberg scored a goal in New York’s series-clinching, penalty shootout win over Columbus on Nov. 3.
Dante Vanzeir had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 East semifinal win at sixth-seeded New York City FC last Saturday as the Red Bulls kept a second consecutive away playoff clean sheet. But first-year manager Sandro Schwarz insists his side must be at their absolute best on Saturday to earn the right result.
“We have to be ready in our intensity and our energy level, in our mentality as well on Saturday,” he said. “And then also for our defensive behavior and our offensive behavior, it’s very important then also to be very aggressive, and to play very, very clean.”
–Field Level Media
