Lions get final chance to impress during season finale
They call it Decision Day but Orlando City’s future already has been decided.
The Lions (10-14-9, 29 points) won’t be vying for a playoff spot and neither will Philadelphia (10-14-9, 39 points) when the teams meet at Talen Energy Stadium for their 2017 Major League Soccer finale at 4 p.m. today.
They will, however, wrap up evaluations on current players before starting offseason negotiations and battle to break a three-way points tie with Montreal for better positioning in the Eastern Conference table.
“For me, every game and every training session is a dress rehearsal for next year. When you play a professional sport, your job’s on the line. If we don’t perform, if we don’t get wins, we are at jeopardy of losing our jobs at this club,” Orlando City coach Jason Kreis said.
“We want to finish well; we want to walk out of the season with our
heads held high and our chests out and say, ‘OK, we gave it everything we had.’ ”
All 22 MLS teams will play at the same time today to conclude the regular season. The Eastern Conference playoff spots are wrapped up, with Toronto FC, New York City FC, the Chicago Fire, Atlanta United FC, Columbus Crew SC and the New York Red Bulls clinching spots one through six and heading to the playoffs.
Things are more interesting in the Western Conference, where the final playoff spot is up for grabs and No. 6 San Jose is tied in points with No. 7 FC Dallas while No. 8 Real Salt Lake is just one point back.
The teams in the West with postseason berths already locked up are the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo.
“Obviously it’s disappointing not to make the playoffs, you know that was our target, so it’s just time for us to finish off the season right and try to get a result this weekend,” Orlando City forward Dom Dwyer said.
Dwyer will again play without Cyle Larin — who leads the team with 12 goals — by his side. Larin did not travel to Philadelphia after dealing with a hip flexor issue all week, according to the club. He also sat out of the home finale last week against Columbus.
Midfielder Will Johnson also will not travel as he serves a one-game suspension due to yellow-card accumulation.
Orlando City has a handful of players entering contract option years and this could be the final game many of them play in purple, but Philadelphia players are in the same situation.
Both Roland Alberg and Ilsinho, among the Union’s stat leaders this season, could be playing to prove themselves to coach Jim Curtin as they enter contract option years, according to MLSSoccer.com.
Alberg is second on the team in goals with seven and Ilsinho is fourth in goals and assists with four of each.
If Orlando City gets three points in Philadelphia, it will finish the year with one more point than last season.
The Lions already have more wins than last season, which included a high number of draws.
The inaugural 2015 campaign remains the club’s best with 44 points and a 12-14-8 record for seventh place in the East.
While finishing with more points than last year is a good objective to have entering the match, Kreis said the outcome will not alter his plans or decisions in the offseason. It also doesn’t provide any extra motivation for players, according to goalkeeper Joe Bendik.
“For me personally, I don’t think you need any motivation,” Bendik said. “Every time you step onto the field you feel the exact same way, whether it’s a final, first game of the season or last game of the season. This is your job.”