Story by: Will Ogburn
This season has often be described as Orlando's trial season before MLS, a bit like the eighth grade before the rigors of high school. In the midst of this season of dominance and certainty, the AS Roma game was a time warp straight to the Lion's first high school prom. And Roma, with their five World Cup qualifying players, would serve as a matchup hot enough to give any team the jitters. Coming off of a strong season in Serie A where they finished in second place, Roma looked to carry the flag of Italy into the Lion’s Den.
In the opening minutes of the match, Orlando City looked a bit frazzled. They shot early and often – Adama Mbengue at 4’ and Kevin Molino at 9’ – but to no avail. Orlando's prom date with AS Roma seemed to be too much pressure for them to handle. Passes went wide and long, opportunities were missed. To preserve their regular players, The Lions fielded two trialist (basically the soccer equivalent to a mercenary whose names don’t make the official roster) at secondary forward and in goal for the first half of the game. In the 20th minute, international soccer star Francesco Totti used the rented keeper to his advantage, scoring with ease as he has done hundreds of times in his career. With the score at 1-0, Orlando City began to find their footing. The shots came closer and with more purpose, the trialist in goal held his own. For Orlando, the action heated up at 35’ when Molino’s shot was blocked out for a corner. Shortly after in the 39th, the stadium erupted as the trialist up front banged in a goal for Orlando. But the cheers wouldn’t last. The goal was waved off due to offsides and the Lions remained scoreless leading into the half.
After some offensive retooling, Roma flew out of the break like a bat out of hell. Roma came at the trialist again and again, giving him four shots before the 54’ mark. The last of those shots was a missile by Totti that would’ve found its home in the back of the net if not for a heroic stop by Rusin. At 62’ the trialist was tested once more, but this time Orlando roared back with a shot on goal, slowing Roma’s advance.In the 65th minute City’s keeper was subbed out for Carl Woszczynski, ending his admirable performance with just one goal allowed. City played like they were constantly on the verge of victory for most of the remainder of the game. At 74’ Molino took a pass from Corey Hertzog and shot it just wide, but when the duo switched roles two minutes later, it looked to be that one moment the fans in purple had been waiting for. The ball hit the back on the net, the arena once again erupted, but wait – the result was the same. Offsides. After that attempt, both sides stayed competitive but neither was successful. Though it seemed for most of the game that Orlando was due a goal at any minute, it was not to be. Roma was able to hold on to their 1-0 lead as the final seconds of stoppage time ticked off.
The one theme that was echoed in the presser following the match was progress. In their meeting last year, Roma prevailed 5-0, so this year’s match was certainly a step in the right direction for the Lions. Head Coach Adrian Heath said he was pleased with his team, calling their effort “monumental”. “That was ten games in less than a month, so for them to perform the way they have … I’m delighted with every single one of them today.” Both Roma’s coach Rudi Garcia and their star Totti talked about the “European style” of soccer played by the Lions. Totti said “They play ball on the ground, they play very fast. To be honest, Orlando City really surprised us. It looks like they have a great future in front of them.” As for their immediate future, the Lions will face their old rivals the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday at the Seminole Soccer Complex.