Kyle Smith dependability earns a new contract with Orlando City SC | OneFootball

Kyle Smith finished the latest MLS season out of contract. So Orlando City SC fixed that. They signed the defender through 2025.

The versatile player appeared in 40 matches through all competitions with 18 starts. For 2024, he scored one goal plus three assists.

In six seasons with Orlando City, Smith has made 105 starts in 180 games through all competitions. That makes him the second most-capped player in club history, behind fellow defender Robin Jansson. In all those matches, he scored nine goals plus nine assists.

Smith performs his duties solidly, which would be enough to earn him a fresh contract. But when the team need extraordinary performances to move closer to the Eastern Conference Championship, Smith met those challenges, also.

Earlier in the season, MLS teams discovered if they worked from a back-three formation it disoriented Orlando City. So Head Coach Oscar Pareja needed players who could master that formation and give it back to the opponents. Kyle Smith rose to that challenge and Orlando moved on.

Then the playoffs began against Charlotte FC. In Game 2, the match depended on which team won a penalty kick shootout and Charlotte got the final victory.

In the third and deciding game, the decision again went to a penalty kick shootout. The Lions needed players dependable with their shots. All four players made their shots, and one of them was Kyle Smith.   Add to that two saves by Pedro Gallese and Orlando moved on.

That kind of solid dependability earned Smith a new contract. He’s now charged with helping the team get back in the playoffs.

Oct 19, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City defender Kyle Smith (24) controls the ball against Atlanta United in the second half at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Scouts identified Smith’s dependability as long ago as his college play. At Transylvania University, he scored 47 goals in his four seasons. He then joined the Cincinnati Dutch Lions for two seasons.

He left that team as the all-time leader in goals, 12, assists, 8, and points, 32. During the 2015 season, he set season records in those categories.

Then, with Louisville City of the USL, he dramatically demonstrated his ability in penalty shootouts against New York Red Bulls II in the Eastern Conference. He converted the penalty and the team moved on to the USL Cup final. They won against the Swope Park Rangers and Smith was named Midseason Defender of the Year.

He continues to make good on those performance credentials. With teammates committed to the same goal, Orlando City SC is poised to make it to the MLS final next season.