Orlando City was seconds away from a fifth consecutive victory until suddenly Dillon Serna was in alone with a clear chance for goal.
Mohamed El-Munir said no.
“Yeah that ball gets slipped in and if he hits it first time right off the touch then I’ve got a chance at it,” goalkeeper Joe Bendik said. “And as soon as he takes the touch it opens up the whole goal. I was like, ‘Oh [crap].’ And then just try to make myself as big as possible, maybe leave my back foot in case he comes back across me and keep my hands towards the near post. And then Mo just comes out of nowhere. So I was happy.”
It was El-Munir’s second game-saving challenge. On March 3, El-Munir ran nearly the length of the field to chase down Darren Mattocks and keep City within one on Opening Day.
“I couldn’t breathe most of the game,” El-Munir told Pro Soccer USA. “The last tackle… [Serna] was my player and he ran through me and Amro [Tarek]. I said, ‘There’s nobody who is going to do it except me.’ When he controlled the ball, I saw I had time.”
El-Munir dove feet-first into Serna’s shot and deflected a sure-goal out for a corner.
“I got lucky, I can say that,” El-Munir said.
