Welcome to the Orlando Sports Weekly Rundown, I'm David Baumann.
Well, that six-game win streak was really fun!
It was only the fourth time in the last five years that any MLS franchise has achieved a six-game win streak.
But a tough loss at home against rival Atlanta (8-2-1) -- the league's #1 team -- gives the Lions a quick gut check.
At least they now know what it's going to take to reach the pinnacle of MLS.
Yes, it was a difficult loss (it knocked Orlando City Soccer down to 6-3-1 in the standings [19 points], remaining in 4th in the Eastern Conference)...
Yes, the unforced errors were maddening...
And yes, the early letdown (2 goals given up in the first half) was enough to bury your head in shame...
"The game played out exactly how we didn't want it to," head coach Jason Kreis told Fox Sports at halftime Sunday.
But this Orlando City team has already done great things early in the year.
The Lions have proven they can play from behind... and come back to win.
In fact, according to prosoccer.com, Orlando City Soccer have conceded in eight of ten games and came back to win or tie in five of those eight games.
And they nearly did it again Sunday, getting a Justin Meram goal in the 57th minute... and they kept the pressure on Atlanta until the very end.
Goaltender Joe Bendik has been terrific through the first ten games.
He's enjoying his finest season yet as a pro.
What might be most impressive, is the offensive firepower this team possesses.
Despite losing prolific stars Kaká and Cyle Larin in the offseason, Orlando City quickly became the second-highest scoring team in the MLS, second only to Atlanta.
A large part of that is the continual development of Dom Dwyer. He's got six goals already this season and could start getting more MVP consideration.
Again, this loss to Atlanta... can serve as a motivating force in the weeks ahead.
Now they know how good Atlanta is.
Now they know what it's going to take.
So it's time to put more work in.
It's a long season, don't forget. In fact, there are six and a half months of regular season still to play!
It's already been a lot of fun... But there's a lot more fun left to be had.
Orlando City opposes Toronto FC Friday night at BMO Field in Canada.
David Baumann is a Sports Columnist for 407area.com and can be heard Tuesdays from 7-9pm on EK Sports, 96.9 The Game. He can be seen Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30pm on Spectrum Sports 360's Face Off segment on Spectrum News 13, channel 1013.
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