One game still remains in Orlando City’s 2017 campaign, but Joe Bendik has already set personal and team records this season. The season started as a banner year for the Lions keeper, making the 40-man preliminary roster for the U.S. Men’s National Team back in June. Before that, Bendik notched three of his eventual seven shutouts on the season through the first eight matches and helped the Lions win six of their first seven games.
“That’s the first time I’ve even been mentioned in there,” Bendik said on his U.S. national team chances, “That’s a huge positive for me, a huge confidence booster for me as I go into the last game and into the offseason to see what I can do off the field and to keep training, to stay fit and to possibly get into the national team. So, I think I’m right there, I just need to keep pushing along.”
Throughout the season, Bendik managed to set career-highs in saves, shutouts and wins as a keeper. His number of saves, which currently stands at 118, is four more than his previous career best set last year.
In an Orlando City uniform, he now has 232 saves to his credit. His save in the 56th minute against Columbus his save against Justin Meram pushed him one over the all-time saves in Orlando City history. This includes Orlando’s USL days and Miguel Gallardo’s 231 saves in his four years with the Lions.
His career-high in shutouts to this point sit at seven this season, two higher than last year’s tally of five. He’s also hit double digit wins for the first time in his career, with 10 this season.
Despite all the personal accolades, Bendik is hopeful for next season for a fresh start with many of the new acquisitions on the roster and try to translate his individual accomplishments into team accomplishments.
“We have a lot of strong personalities and that makes me hopeful that we have a strong foundation here and we just need to keep at it and keep working at it.
