The last time Orlando City (8-11-14, 38 points) played D.C. United (11-9-13, 46 points), the Lions needed the win to get a leg up in the playoff race. Instead, United got the leg up and hasn’t lost since, winning four consecutive to clinch a playoff spot and put themselves in a good position for the postseason. The fortunes of the two sides have been so different since that Sept. 24 match-up that it’s hard to believe these teams were neck-and-neck for the sixth place in the East less than a month ago.
While United were climbing to fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the Lions were drawing at Toronto and losing at home to Montreal to fall out of the postseason race, before finally snapping their skid with a road win last week at Philadelphia.