Hunting Journal | Uncharted territory

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — It's strange to say, but heading into training on Wednesday morning, the mood around the team was fairly normal.

It's not like the team a few days ago won against their rivals, Atlanta United, to make the Eastern Conference Final for the first time ever or anything. No big deal, right?

For the majority of the season, the mantra for this Orlando City team has been "one game at a time," and heading into this week, that thought process is no different. Though, the fact that the Lions are one win away from making it to MLS Cup for the first time ever is not lost on them either.

"We have tried during the week to stay concentrated on our responsibility and the opportunity that we have," Head Coach Oscar Pareja said on Wednesday. "Certainly, we're very proud of what the group has achieved for our club and our fans, but we're eager to go for much more than that. Now we have this opportunity. But as we say before, we are playing one game all the time, and now we're focused on New York, trying to be prepared and the best we can and have a good game and advance."

Since Pareja took over the Lions in 2020, they have made the postseason every year, but had never gotten past the conference semifinals. Most people thought last year would be the year to break that streak, but the Lions fell to the eventual champion Columbus Crew in extra time.

Now, after a tough start to the season, the Lions have finally broken the streak and find themselves in somewhat uncharted territory.

While the MLS Cup Playoffs run is new, the Orlando City roster is full of players that have played tournament soccer over the last six years.

Veteran Nico Lodeiro, who won multiple MLS Cups with Seattle. Luis Muriel, who has played in five UEFA Champions Leagues over his tenure in Europe. Pedro Gallese, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Facundo Torres, Kyle Smith, Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena, who were all part of the memorable 2022 U.S. Open Cup run. All of these players have been in these win-or-go-home situations before and have come out the victors. Those players will be leaned on heavily come Saturday night.

"We've had players that played big, big finals and big semifinals before," Defender Rafael Santos said. "We just need to play our game, be focused, and like Oscar said, We're here to make history."

Speaking of that 2022 season, that U.S. Open Cup run was the last time the Lions and Red Bulls faced off in a knockout match. It ended up becoming one of the more memorable matches at home that season, with a 5-1 drubbing of the New Jersey side.

But that match, nor the two matches the teams played earlier in the year, have any bearing on what's to come this weekend. It's playoff soccer. It's a chance to go to a cup final. Throw all the other games out the window.

"This is history that needs to be written," Pareja said. "It's a new game with the importance to get a championship, but also to advance to the MLS Cup Final. So we will be prepared. The boys are ready."