Scuffling Orlando still has playoff hopes (Aug 26, 2017)
One captain in, one captain out.
Kaka will be back from a red-card suspension when the Orlando City SC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, but the Lions will be without midfielder Will Johnson, who wears the captain's armband when Kaka is out.
Johnson suffered a lateral ankle sprain during a 1-1 draw with Columbus on Aug. 19. He is expected to miss two to four weeks.
Still, Lions coach Jason Kreis believes his team, which started the season 6-1 and is 2-9-7 since then, can make a late push.
"When you start that way, you start to have visions of grandeur about what the season will entail," Kreis told the Orlando Sentinel. "It creates a new level of expectation in almost everybody, yourselves included, fans, everybody. But the truth of the matter is that we constructed this team this year to be a little better than last year.
"We didn't go out and make wholesale changes. That was one of the options that we had and we chose differently. We chose to make minor changes, to bring in a few leaders to help this team and to improve the team bit by bit, looking at it as a longer-term process."
Eight-place Orlando City (8-10-7) trails Montreal, which sits in sixth, by five points in the Eastern Conference standings. Four of the Lions' nine remaining games involve teams below them in the standings - D.C. United, Philadelphia and two against New England.
"We don't think we're dead," Giles Barnes, who scored the equalizer against Columbus, told the paper. "The table is really close still. We believe that we're capable of beating anyone on any day regardless of how many games are left. We're a hungry group, ambitious group. It's just about that finishing touch. And 1/8Saturday 3/8, to come back from a goal down just shows our character. We're here to win. We're hungry. We're here to give this support system what they deserve, which is for us to be in the playoffs at least."
Vancouver (10-9-5) sits just above the playoff cutline in the crowded Western Conference, two points ahead of San Jose. The top six teams are separated by just six points. The Whitecaps lead San Jose by two points, but have played two fewer games.
Vancouver has six road points this season, second best in the conference.
The Lions are 6-3-4 at home this season, but are winless in their last five at Orlando City Stadium.
"We're going in there to win. I'll say it straight out," goalkeeper David Ousted told the Vancouver Sun. "We've been good at going away from home and taking those games head on."
The Whitecaps salvaged a midweek draw against rival Seattle despite conceding an early goal playing a man down for the final 30 minutes.
"We feel full of energy," said Vancouver striker Fredy Montero, who scored the equalizer against Seattle. "If you feel tired, you just talk to the coach and the other guy's going to step in and do the best that he can."
Tony Tchani will miss Saturday's game after getting a red card against the Sounders. Aaron Maund, who was acquired earlier this month from Real Salt Lake, could start in his place.
After Saturday, the Whitecaps have four straight home games, beginning with Real Salt Lake in two weeks.
Orlando plays at New England on Sept. 2.
