With Kaka missing last week’s game against Columbus, Will Johnson took the captain's armband, as he has many times this season. Unfortunately for the midfielder, injury forced him out of the match in the 32nd minute, giving the captain’s armband to goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

This marked the first time since joining Orlando City that Bendik had worn the armband. Despite this being his first time wearing it, the keeper has been leading the back line through the season, improving on his communication and leadership with goalkeeper coach Tim Mulqueen.

Mulqueen, who joined the Lions prior to the season, had coached Bendik back in the day with the U.S. youth national teams. Now, the goalkeeping coach is once again working with the keeper, who is a bit older and more experienced in his game.

“Goalkeeper is a position that you get better as you get older because of the more experience you have, the better decisions you’ll make,” Mulqueen said

At 28 years of age, Bendik has been a professional for seven years, each year improving an aspect of his game. Last year, he had the second most saves in MLS and used that momentum to not only get on the U.S. Men’s National Team radar, but also become a favorite among Lions fans.

This year, Bendik has improved vastly on his communication and leadership in the backline. Bedik once again leads the league in saves, with 86 so far this season, but this year he’s been able to work with the back line, continuously talking with them, to help keep his defenders alert and on top of their markers. This has resulted in less goals scored compared to last season and the netminder is now tied for fourth in shutouts this year in MLS.

For Mulqueen, the fact that Bendik continues to strive to improve is nothing new.

“Joe is a real student of the game,” Mulqueen said, “People look at him and think ‘oh, he’s such a tremendous athlete, great shot stopper.’ But I tell ya, the guy watches a lot of film, he knows every player in the league and what their tendencies are.”

With just seven games to go, Bendik will be a big factor for the Lions down the stretch, if they are to be able to pull out results in close matches.