Columbus (17-9-9) upped its unbeaten streak at home in all competitions to 17, but the third-seeded Crew will hit the road for a semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Orlando City on Nov. 25. Top-seeded FC Cincinnati will host the fourth-seeded Philadelphia Union in the other semifinal, also on Nov. 25.

The Crew started quickly against Atlanta United, grabbing the lead in the 9th minute on an unassisted goal by Darlington Nagbe. It was Nagbe’s third career postseason goal and his second with the Crew.

Defender Malte Amundsen pushed the lead to 2-0 eight minutes later, using an assist from Aidan Morris to score his first career goal in the playoffs. Alexandru Matan made it 3-0 in the 33rd minute with his first career postseason netter. Diego Rossi and Cucho Hernández notched assists.

Giorgos Giakoumakis used assists from Brooks Lennon and Thiago Almada to score in the 35th minute and Atlanta United (13-10-12) trailed 3-1 at halftime. Giakoumakis scored two goals in his first postseason. He became the first player in club history to contribute to three goals in a playoff match during a 4-2 win in Atlanta.

Rossi scored off an assist from Matan two minutes into the second half for his first postseason goal with the Crew and a 4-1 lead. Rossi, in his first season with Columbus, scored one goal in the playoffs during his two seasons with Los Angeles FC.

Xande Silva answered three minutes later for Atlanta United to complete the scoring. Lennon and Ajani Fortune had assists on Silva’s second goal in his first postseason.

Patrick Schulte finished with two saves for the Crew. Schulte had a clean sheet in the Crew’s 2-0 victory in the opener. Brad Guzan saved four shots for Atlanta United.

Columbus won just two of its first seven matches at home with Atlanta United, but the Crew picked up three wins there this season and have scored multiple goals in the last eight matchups on their home turf. Columbus improved to 20-1-8 in its last 29 home matches in all competitions. The Crew have won seven in a row at home in the playoffs.

Atlanta United has won only four of its last 36 road matches in all competitions. Atlanta United was shut out in all three of its previous postseason matches away from home.

Orlando City showed in its 1-0 road victory against Nashville SC late Tuesday night that it is fully capable of adjusting to the opponent. This substance-over-style approach will bode well for the Lions as they advance to the conference semifinals, which begin Nov. 25 or 26.

The Lions came out flying after the kickoff, pressing Nashville’s defense into some costly early mistakes.  One of these, in the sixth minute, led to Ivan Angulo’s goal that  ultimately made the difference.

“We came out with the intention to run and to really press them high and try to pin them back, so I just kind of pressed into that area between the center backs and the holding midfielders that I really like to get in-between and force them to make a bad pass,” Angulo said. “I was able to take the ball off their foot and find myself in a nice spot in their box and just figured I would have a hit and see where it goes and thankfully it went into the back of the net.”

Despite the early goal, it was Orlando’s defensive effort that really made the difference against Nashville’s potent attack that was held scoreless over two games in the best-of-3 series.

Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made four impressive saves to keep the clean sheet while defenders Robin Jannson and Rodrigo Schlegel showcased Orlando’s defensive solidity.

In a chippy game that had nine combined yellow cards and 23 fouls, Orlando’s defense kept control of the match from the start. Schlegel’s 11 clearances were six clear of the next-best player and highlighted the Argentinian’s involvement. He has done an impeccable job filling in for Antonio Carlos, who is still working his way back to full fitness after Injury.

Nashville threw everything it had at Orlando in the second half, but coach Oscar Pareja’s tactical move to five at the back made a key difference, too. Where most teams would have gone for a second goal, Pareja wanted to see out the clean sheet on the back of his impressive defense.

“We defended all those crosses, and when they were throwing bodies in front we still controlled the game and we are happy because we looked more mature today,” the coach said. “We continue with our journey thinking that we can do it. We are very proud and, again, I want to congratulate the players on the tremendous effort that they have done.”

Still, a major concern remains because Orlando’s high-flying offense has  scored just two goals in as many games and none came from forwards Facundo Torres or Duncan McGuire. The Lions will need to get better up front if they want to make a push for the MLS Cup, but having a solid defense should take the pressure off and allow them the freedom to get back on the scoresheet in the later rounds.

Orlando (19-7-9) earned its third consecutive 1-0 win over Nashville, including a victory on Oct. 30 with a 25-7 edge in shots. The Lions had won only one of their nine meetings with Nashville in all competitions before winning the last three.

Pictures: Orlando City wins first MLS playoff game against Nashville

“We came out with the intention to run and to really press them high and try to pin them back so I just kind of pressed into that area between the center backs and the holding midfielders that I really like to get in-between and force them to make a bad pass,” Angulo said.

Nashville (13-12-10) lost a knockout round match at home for the first time in club history, ending a string of seven wins and two draws in nine playoff and cup matches at home.

Angulo stepped in front of a back pass inside the penalty area and split two defenders with a shot that went over the head of goalkeeper Joe Willis.

Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made four saves for his 10th clean sheet of the season.

“I thought we played a very complete match, especially because we were solid in the attacking areas and could have probably scored a couple more goals, but against Nashville that is not an easy task,” Lions coach Oscar Pareja said.

Orlando, which has won three straight road matches for the first time in club history, will play the winner of the Columbus-Atlanta series.

Atlanta staved off elimination with a 4-2 win earlier Tuesday, forcing a decisive Game 3 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

Orlando Sentinel Correspondent

The second round of the MLS Cup playoffs is within reach for Orlando City after its 1-0 home win in Game 1 a week ago against Nashville.

Orlando City takes on Nashville SC at GEODIS Park on Tuesday. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be carried on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Orlando City comes into Game 2 riding a five-game winning streak, including a pair of 1-0 wins over Nashville. Playing on the road shouldn’t faze the Lions because they won a league-best nine games away from home during the regular season.

For Orlando coach Oscar Pareja, however, past results do not matter in this three-game series. He has been urging his team to take everything one game at a time, and so far it has been paying off.

“Without using too much the context of the games or predicting the future is for the players every single day that we have to live one day at a time, one game at a time, and this series is the same,” Pareja said. “We have a big responsibility to prepare for a game that can advance to the next phase, but we had to go and play them, and surely it is going to be a big challenge.”

The challenge for Orlando is that Nashville enters this game on the verge of elimination.  Pareja expects his team to come up against a hungry and physical side but feels that the Lions are prepared to see a different side of Nashville.

“Winning the game, things happen. We close this series and if they don’t do it, they’re out,” Pareja added. “It’s always that they want to extend the series one more game,  so there’s surely some behaviors in the field that may change and we are preparing for that.”

On the injury front, midfielder Favian Loyola (left arm) and forward Jack Lynn (left thigh) are ruled out for the Lions. Nashville midfielder Randall Leal (lower body injury) is questionable.

Orlando dominated in possession and outshot Nashville 25-7, but signs of their early-season troubles in front of goal were glaring. Neither talismanic forward Facundo Torres or rookie phenom Duncan McGuire were able to make an impact, with only one shot on goal between the pair from the former in the third minute.

Pictures: Orlando City wins first MLS playoff game against Nashville

In fact, despite the drastic difference in shot totals, Nashville eked out higher expected goals with 1.20 to Orlando’s 1.18. It would take a wonder goal from defensive midfielder Wilder Cartagena to break the deadlock in the 41st minute.

“It was a great goal and It was a beautiful goal. I think on the play, it was César [Araújo] who headed it over to me. Then I found myself in a lot of space and I decided to just hit it, with a lot of confidence,” said Cartagena. “Thankfully I hit it in a spot that was really difficult for the goalkeeper. I’ve been trying to do that the last couple of games and this one finally came off and it was a great one.”

Winning in MLS is a team endeavor, something Orlando has excelled at this season. Coach Oscar Pareja expects all of his players to come up big when needed and no one exemplifies that more than midfielder-turned-defender Dagur Dan Thórhallsson.

Thórhallsson’s shift into the defense has paid dividends for the Lions as his speed and aggressiveness makes him equally potent in attack and defense. He was all over the pitch Monday night, causing a massive headache for Nashville as Orlando pinned it back.

“We kept the ball high on the pitch, with a lot of players and a dynamic system, of course. So that was the way we could pin [Nashville] a little bit down and that’s how the goal with Wilder came,” Thórhallsson said. “We pinned them a little bit down and then he got a chance and took it. So, for me, when we pin teams down then most of the players on our team shine.”

It’s not just the players making a difference, either. The atmosphere in Orlando has long been considered one of the best in MLS and they showed at Exploria Stadium, willing the Lions to victory and keeping Nashville on edge.

“[The] atmosphere is getting better and better. I hope that the entire country saw them because it was a great experience to see the crowd engage in the game and give us that much energy,” Pareja added. “They are becoming protagonists of the success of the team, and I was very pleased to see that. It was great.”

The Lions will need to be more clinical in front of goal in order to make a deep playoff run, but they’ve shown even an off night won’t stop their hunt for glory. If they can regain their scoring prowess, they’ll be difficult to stop.

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  Orlando player Ramiro Enrique (top left) is hit in the face by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis (top right) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Rodrigo Schlegel (top) knocks down Nashville player Hany Mukhtar (bottom) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando players block a kick by Nashville player Hany Mukhtar (left) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Facundo Torres is pictured during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Fans cheer during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese (middle) makes a stop between Nashville player Alex Muyl (19) and Orlando player Rafael Santos (3) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese makes a stop during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Facundo Torres moves the ball during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Mauricio Pereyra (10) collides with Nashville player Sean Davis (right) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Ivan Angulo moves the ball during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Nashville player Daniel Lovitz (left) knocks down Orlando player Junior Urso (21) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando coach Oscar Pareja points during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando coach Oscar Pareja coaches during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Ivan Angulo (right) kicks past Nashville player Sean Davis (54) during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Junior Urso (top) celebrates with children after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Fans cheer during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Robin Jansson celebrates after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Facundo Torres celebrates after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Junior Urson kicks during the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Junior Urso celebrates on the pitch after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando players celebrate on the pitch after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando coach Oscar Pareja celebrates after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando players Rafael Santos (3), Junior Urson (middle), and Antonio Carlos (25) celebrate with children on the pitch after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Junior Urso celebrates with a child after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

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  Orlando player Junior Urso celebrates after winning the MLS Playoff match of Nashville Soccer Club at Orlando City Soccer at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Monday, October 30, 2023. Orlando won the match 1-0. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

Let’s hope Orlando City is thisclose to signing Oscar Pareja, the greatest coach in franchise history, to a new contract.

But it sure seems strange that this is even a topic of conversation after Orlando City’s historically successful regular season and a 1-0 playoff-opening victory over Nashville SC Monday night at the Purple Palace — aka Exploria Stadium.

It sure seems strange that the Lions began their stated goal to win the MLS Cup in front of nearly 20,000 Oscar-adoring fans Monday night, and, yet, the man of hour — Oscar Pareja himself — was actually coaching under an expiring contract.

And, yes, it sure seems strange that Pareja and Luiz Muzzi, the team’s executive vice president in charge of soccer operations, are actually both without a contract for next season. That’s right, the man in charge of coaching the team and the man in charge of building the team, are on the last few games of their current contracts with Orlando City.

Just so you know, Wilf said before Monday night’s playoff opener that Orlando City has had some “good talks” and is in a “good place” in regards to negotiations with Pareja and Muzzi, but he didn’t say a deal has been sealed.

Before the playoffs began, Pareja and Muzzi were very vague about their contract status and didn’t seem at all eager to discuss their futures.

When Muzzi was asked about his contract status as well as the future of Pareja and some of Orlando City’s current players, he replied: “Right now, we’re focused on the playoffs and the MLS Cup. Once that’s over, we’ll talk about those other things.”

Said Pareja: “I have been having a great journey here in Orlando. Really. I have this opportunity for a club I wanted to coach in a city where I wanted to live, but right now we want more. … We are just focusing on the playoff games.”

Obviously, there is something happening behind the scenes that we are not really privy to right now. The Wilf family — the billionaire owners of Orlando City and the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings — has clearly seen enough to know that the Pareja-Muzzi tandem is working and working well.

Muzzi came to Orlando in 2019 and hired Pareja a year later. Before Pareja’s tenure, Orlando City had never made the playoffs in five years of existence under three different head coaches. Since Pareja’s arrival in 2020, Orlando City has made the playoffs in all four of his seasons and this year set club records for victories, points, road wins and goal differential.

Although the Lions have never won the MLS Cup, they are one of the few teams in recent years that are at least in the playoffs vying for it every season. As somebody wise once said, “You gotta be in it to win it.”

“Only four out of 30 clubs have made the playoffs the last four years,” Muzzi points out. “That’s no small accomplishment, but we are always pushing for more and you can’t be satisfied. We want to win an MLS Cup. We want to bring the Cup to the city.”

Mark Wilf acknowledges that he is happy and “excited about where the entire soccer brain trust” of Pareja, Muzzi and assistant GM Ricardo Moreira has taken the franchise. Which makes you wonder what the holdup is in signing the brain trust to new contracts?

Could it be that Pareja specifically is weighing his options? He does, after all, have tons of leverage. He is considered one of the top coaches in MLS and likely wants a huge salary increase from the estimated $300,000 annually he is making right now. Considering the Wilfs own an NFL team and are used to paying exorbitant salaries, you would think they could find $1 million a year in their couch cushions to pay Pareja.

Let’s hope they get a deal done soon because Pareja has shown in the past he is not afraid to jump to another job and take on a new challenge if the situation calls for it.

Let’s not forget, he started his MLS coaching career with the Colorado Rapids, but left after two years to join Muzzi at FC Dallas. In fact, because Pareja still had a year left on his contract in Colorado, Dallas had to give the Rapids a 2015 first-round draft pick and some allocation money to hire him. Pareja left Dallas five years later as the most successful coach in club history to join Club Tijuana in Liga MX.

Orlando City fans can only hope Pareja isn’t considering another career move.

“All of us are in a good place,” Wilf said of the negotiations, “but right now we’re in the position of wanting to put full focus on the MLS playoffs and going for the Cup.”

There’s no doubt that winning the coveted Cup is the No. 1 priority for Orlando City.

However, bringing back Pareja and Muzzi — the two men most responsible for building this championship-caliber team —  is a close second.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen

A sensational goal from midfielder Wilder Cartagena and stellar performance by goalkeeper Pedro Gallese were enough for the Lions as they head to Nashville with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Game 2 is Nov. 7 at 9 p.m. ET.

Please, Orlando City, bring us our first real championship | Commentary

“I thought we had a good game. Especially that first half where we connected much more in the final third and then we created so many options,” said Orlando coach Oscar Pareja. “Happy for this first playoff win but we have to get ready for the next one”

The Lions broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion in the 41st minute. Cartagena received the ball 30 yards from goal and smashed it into the top right corner. The ball made it past goalkeeper Joe Willis’ outstretched hands before hitting the post and bouncing in for the lead.

Both sides came out swinging in the second half in a game that had more than 30 combined shots. Nashville superstar Hany Mukhtar had a chance in the 59th minute but Gallese was able to get the tip of his toes on it to keep it out.

“Pedro is a fantastic goalkeeper for us that always shows up when we need it the most,” Pareja added. “I’m happy to see Pedro on that level and happy for the city, happy for the club, happy for the community enjoying this playoff game that we won tonight.”

Pareja made the switch to playing with five at the back for the last 10 minutes of regulation to close out the victory. They were able to withstand late-game surges from Nashville and will need to tighten things up on the road for Game 2.

Kickoff at Exploria Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m. (FS1, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+).

Please, Orlando City, bring us our first real championship | Commentary

The new playoff format means the Lions must win in a best-of-three series against a heated rival. The two sides met twice in the regular season, with the away sides winning each matchup.

The Lions have been one of the hottest teams in MLS during the last few months, but that won’t matter if they can’t carry that momentum forward. Coach Oscar Pareja believes his team is ready to rise to the challenge.

“We are very aware that this is a new beginning, this is a new term, and we know who we are,” he said. “Most important is that we can focus on this moment and think about the present, and the present is Nashville.”

Expectations are high for the second-seeded Lions and talisman Facundo Torres will be expected to reach another level, too. His 14 league goals led the team and was a personal best for the young forward, and he knows how vital his scoring form will be in the playoffs.

“I’ve been able to have that complete year, that full year of already being here, already being adjusted, and I’m having a really great year so far,” Torres said. “So being able to enter into the playoffs like this and with the rhythm that we have, I’m looking forward to it.”

On the injury front, midfielder Favian Loyola (left arm) and forward Jack Lynn (left thigh) are ruled out for Orlando City. Midfielder Randall Leal (lower body injury) is questionable for Nashville.

Maybe our best chance.

Maybe our last chance for who knows how long.

When Orlando City begins the MLS Cup playoffs Monday night by hosting Nashville FC in a best-of-three series, this is our chance to finally win a championship.

Let’s be honest, Orlando, we’ve never won a championship — a real, legitimate, bona fide championship — in any sport of any significance. Oh sure, the old Orlando Predators won some Arena Football League championships. The Orlando Solar Bears and Orlando Seals won some minor league hockey titles. Orlando City itself, before it was granted an MLS franchise, won a championship while competing in the lower-level United Soccer League. Not that these championships aren’t meaningful to the teams that won them, but they aren’t “major league.”

As for UCF’s self-proclaimed college football national championship after the undefeated 2017 season, while it is officially recognized in the NCAA record book, it’s not really taken seriously by anybody outside of Knight Nation. In fact, it’s become more of a national punchline than a national championship.

The Magic, of course, have reached the NBA Finals twice, but both times they were quickly eliminated. In 1995, they were swept in four games by the Houston Rockets, and in 2009 the Lakers disposed of them in five games.

So let me say this once again: We need a championship in our town — and we need one badly. Over the years, we have seen our neighbors in Tampa celebrate Super Bowls and hoist Stanley Cups. We have seen South Florida celebrate NBA championships, World Series titles and the most iconic NFL champions of all-time — the unbeaten 1972 Dolphins.

And what’s our answer to the ’72 Miami Dolphins — the 2019 Orlando Apollos finishing with the best record in the Alliance of American Football before the bankrupt league went belly-up midway through its inaugural season?

Yippee.

Orlando City, can you hear me?

Can you feel our pain?

“Our heart is strong and we know what [a championship] would mean for the city,” Lions coach Oscar Pareja says. “It’s a great responsibility, but it would bring great joy and would be the best way for us to express our gratitude for the support of the fans and the community.”

I’ve said and written many times, there are two things that bring a city together like nothing else — tragedy and a championship sports team. Orlando City certainly helped begin the healing process after this community’s most horrific tragedy — the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in the summer of 2016. A week after 49 people were shot and killed, nearly 40,000 Orlandoans packed into Camping World Stadium to rally around their team and to rally against the horror of hate.

Nobody had to perform the national anthem that night because the fans stood up and sang it themselves — loudly and proudly. And they kept singing along when the teams took the field to the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love.” And before the game started, they gave first responders a standing ovation and sang along again to U2’s “In The Name of Love.”

As former Orlando city coach Adrian Heath said at the time with his voice cracking, “The people in this city have never let us down when we’ve needed them, and maybe they need us a little bit right now.”

There is nothing so galvanizing and unifying as the power of sport, and here’s hoping Orlando City can bring us together again — this time under much happier circumstances. Multiple studies have been done showing that winning a championship can lead to a sense of happiness and well-being among fans; more social interaction and a more positive mood within the community; and there is some evidence that the crime rate even goes down temporarily.

Kay Rawlins, one of the co-founders of Orlando City and a vice president in the organization, says championship fever is what she envisioned when she helped bring the franchise here 13 years ago. And what is championship fever?

“People are talking, the city’s buzzing and everybody’s got a spring in their step,” Rawlins says. “Sports is not the be-all, end-all, however, we all know the extra lift it gives your life when your team is doing well. If we could bring a championship here, I just think it would be amazing.”

And, quite frankly, Orlando City might just be the best team in MLS right now. Even though they are the second seed in the East, nobody is playing better than the Lions heading into the playoffs. After winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy in 2022, they’ve built on it by setting club records for victories, points, road wins and goal differential. They have been MLS’ best team since June 1, sporting a 13-3-4 record over their final 20 games of the regular season.

What’s all this mean?

It means this is our chance, Orlando.

This is our best chance.

We want a championship.

A championship that counts.

A championship that proves we have the best team in America’s best league.

We want that MLS Cup.

We need that MLS Cup.

Bring it home, boys.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen