Lions net preseason victory
Kreis pleased with Orlando City’s effort
Orlando City entered its first preseason scrimmage knowing it had a big advantage, but the Lions still wanted to execute well.
Lions coach said he saw positive effort from the club during its 5-0 win over Jacksonville University Saturday. The victory closed out Orlando City’s training in Jacksonville. The Lions are slated to resume training in Orlando Tuesday ahead of their season opener against NYCFC March 5. half enough to really test that. Hopefully next week we'll get a little bit bigger test on that side of things.”
Barry, who is entering his second season with Orlando City after shining at UCF, said the scrimmage was a good chance to improve.
“We just took it as the next game on our schedule,” he said. “Came here, tried to get better. We had a great week in Jacksonville.” City’s talent, fan support and favorable weather. “I was very happy when I learned it was Orlando. I knew it was going to be a lot better than college. The speed of play is very high and everyone’s very consistent on the ball. I'm enjoying it. I think I've adapted pretty well to it.”
Kreis has described Deakin as “an attack-minded midfielder, left-footed, so [he] really has the ability to make and score goals for us.”
Deakin said he’s trying to show Kreis and the Lions they made right call selecting him.
“I’ve just been out here trying to impress and do my thing and hopefully they like what they see,” he said. good to see the Lions progress during their time in Jacksonville.
“Everyone seems to be working really hard, and I'm happy about it because there seems to be a lot of ambition at the club, which I think is important,” he said. “There's a great fan base and I think we're all looking forward to the upcoming season.”
Spector, a Chicago native who is poised to begin his first stint playing in MLS after a career playing for European clubs, said he is attacking workouts with one thing in mind.
“I don't really have any personal goals, they're more team based. Team-oriented,” he said.
“I know a big one is going to be making the playoffs and from there, anything can happen. But certainly our main ambition as a group has to be to make the playoffs, which the club hasn't done, and I think that'd be a great target for us.”