In the 74th minute of last night’s home win against D.C. United, we witnessed what may prove to be the save of the season. The combination of Jonathan Spector and GK Joe Bendik kept D.C. from scoring the equalizer in dramatic fashion – embodying everything the team strives to be.
“I don’t think I could say, to be honest with you, any more good things about those two [Spector & Bendik] throughout the whole year. Spector epitomizes everything that we’re about. He never gives up. He’s always willing. He’s a senior pro and he guides everyone around him. And as for Joe, Joe’s been fantastic all year. I think their performances overall kind of speak for themselves and that play just sums up their season so far,” Lions forward Giles Barnes said in a post-match interview.
Barnes himself made a positive impact on the match as a substitute. He entered the match in the 59th minute and immediately set the tone for the second half. Barnes’ first involvement was a clean slide tackle on a D.C. player – a play that seemed to energize the whole team. Barnes would go on to draw the free kick that set up Orlando City’s first goal and score the team’s second, sealing the win.
Now, back to the save of the year.
It was a back pass from Jose Aja which put D.C. United’s Lamar Neagle in one-on-one with Joe Bendik. Neagle touched the ball past Bendik and it looked as though D.C. would tie the match at 1-1, but defender Jonathan Spector had other ideas. Spector stood tall in front the vacated goal and blocked Neagle’s attempt, sending the ball high in the air and it looked, surely, like Sebastian Le Toux would have a tap in header at the far post. A scrambling Joe Bendik hustled back towards his net and leaped just in the nick of time to punch the ball away from the goal-line, maintaining Orlando City’s 1-0 lead.
D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen’s shocked expression said it all as the home crowd erupted after Bendik and Spector miraculously kept the ball out of the net. The save was nothing short of spectacular, and it was a critical part of a match which Orlando City so desperately needed to win. In his post-match press conference, Lions Head Coach Jason Kreis shared his thoughts on the goal-line save:
“As the ball went around Joe I basically closed my eyes and figured, ‘Here we go again.’ With just some weird play that ends up with a back-breaking goal against us but credit to Mr. [Jonathan] Spector and credit to Joe for not giving up on the play. It was an important moment.”
Indeed it was. Orlando City doubled their lead ten minutes after Spector and Bendik’s momentous save, earning the Lions all three points and getting the team back on track.
