All Orlando City SC needs to is play their game to win it all | OneFootball

Mental preparations as much as physical drills got Orlando City SC to the Eastern Conference final match for the first time.  After a slow start to the regular season, the players learned to focus on each opponent through simulated matches.

That turned the team around their 2-3-5 record after the first 10 matches. From that point, they took off on the best run of any MLS squad this season. From a place of little hope – not at all resembling last year’s playoff-bound squad – they kicked 59 goals, more than the previous season.

An important aspect that quickly built Orlando City into a winning playoff squad is increasing concentration, and then growing that focus.

The organization Digital Content Manager Austin David calls it a mantra of ‘One game at a time.’

Nov 9, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja reacts in the first half against the Charlotte FC in a 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One match at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Credit also goes to Head Coach Oscar Pareja, who has led the team to the post-season every year since taking over in 2020. But they never got past the conference semi-finals. He added that the team recognizes this as their opportunity to inscribe history that needs to be written. And they are ready to do so.

It’s like winning the preliminary stages of a car race. But now they are in something like the 24 hours of Le Mans. It’s not only who comes in first at the end, but who traveled the furthest to get there.

This team has traveled beginning with an unsuccessful start. Then they became aware that they weren’t an unsuccessful squad. They have good players and they became aware of this fact.

With a focus on each match and studying each opponent in turn, they achieved a record that reflects a successful squad of winners.