A beautifully placed free kick by midfielder Will Johnson and who else but forward Cyle Larin with a timely header for the goal.
In the 65th minute of a 0-0 match between Orlando City and D.C. United, Larin outfought a defender to net his eighth goal of the season.
“Even though I scored, it was a foul,” Larin said after the match. “I saw the replay – there was a couple plays before that kept leading up to it. I was being held the whole game, and I just kept playing through it.”
A recurring theme for Orlando City, Larin has outfought defenders to deliver for the Lions while in the penalty box.
“It’s nothing short of amazing that Larin continues to score those types of goals cause everybody that knows Cyle knows that he’s extremely dangerous in the box,” said Head Coach Jason Kreis. “I think every opponent is very, very keyed on trying to be physical with him, but sometimes that’s not getting it done.”
Larin is now tied for third in goals scored in MLS. The young striker didn’t let a rough patch get him down.
“My teammates believe in me,” Larin said. “I think that’s the most important thing. They always encourage me – even when I’m not scoring, they say, ‘keep going.’ I just kept going, and I kept working… The one goal that goes in, they’ll keep coming after that.”
Lions’ forward Giles Barnes called the 22-year-old, Larin, a man-child after his strong performance against D.C. United.
“Larin is a big strong boy,” Barnes said. “He’s got hunger to win plays and to make things happen… He’s been doing it the whole year.”
