ORLANDO, Fla. – The night of May 6 was a historic one in Orlando.

Orlando City SC won its sixth-straight game for the first time in its Major League Soccer history in a 3-1, come-from-behind win over Real Salt Lake and solidified its hold on third place with a 19-point total.

But the Sunday-night matchup was also significant on an individual level. Center back Chris Schuler made his debut for Orlando City against RSL wherein he played the entire 90 minutes, recorded two tackles and completed 91.4 percent of his 35 passes. For City head coach Jason Kreis, Schuler’s performance was an impressive one.

“Really strong. Really strong. Of course, it wasn’t perfect,” Kreis said after the win. “There was a few moments where he’s maybe put a foot or two on, but he’s popped up in a lot of really important moments late in the game–cutting out crosses, making really good 1-v-1 defensive plays.

“So I think that says a lot–a lot–because it is his first game in a lot of time, and he’s had injuries even through preseason and the beginning part of the season, so I would say he’s not match-fit. So that says a lot that he can perform like that, not being 100 percent match-fit.”

Schuler was signed to a contract at the last possible moment when Orlando City announced its official 2018 roster. He trained with the Lions throughout most of the preseason after spending the last eight seasons with RSL.

He played his last game-time minutes in a 79-minute outing of a 6-2 loss to FC Dallas on June 3, 2017.

Despite the hiatus, goalkeeper Joe Bendik was impressed with Schuler, Bendik’s fifth center back this season. Bendik sees that kind of depth as useful as the season goes on. City will likely need that depth, as they approach a stretch that includes No. 1 Atlanta United FC, Toronto FC, Chicago Fire SC and New York City FC.

“I think he did really well,” Bendik said after the match. “You know, I’ve said this before: I think it’s a really positive thing for this team to have so many different pairings. It’s very unlikely that you can go through a whole year and see the same two center backs, so we got a lot of guys minutes, and I think that’s gonna come back to really help us in the end.”

First-year City center back Lamine Sané manned the Lions’ back line for the entire game with Schuler. The former Bundesliga defender noticed initial difficulty in communicating with his fourth center-back partner this season but praised Schuler’s performance, nonetheless, in his first game against his former side.

“I tried to spoke with him. Was not easy for him because it’s the first game, and I think the ex-club, I think,” Sané said after the match. “But he played good. Congratulations for him because it’s not easy to start a game like that. But the communication was good, and [he] played very well.”

Team captain Jonathan Spector is still recovering from his second head injury of the season, as Kreis said he was “feeling better” after training on May 2. Center back Amro Tarek broke his nose but was kept out of the RSL match after succumbing to a lower-body injury in training on May 5.

Right back R.J. Allen, who was on the bench against RSL, has also seen time at center back.

The Lions return to action on Sunday at 6 p.m. when they host Atlanta. Atlanta is first in the Eastern Conference with a 7-1-1 record and a league-leading 22 points.

Josué Colmán Disciplined Before RSL Match

Young designated player Josué Colmán was removed from the team’s 18-man lineup shortly before the Lions kicked off their match with RSL. Colmán broke a locker-room rule before the match and is not injured, according to Kreis.

“Yeah, he wasn’t in the 18 today only due to [a] disciplinary matter,” Kreis said. “Broke a rule in the locker room before the match and was brought out of the 18 because of that.”

So far this season, the MLS rookie has started one of his five appearances, recording 139 minutes and a goal.

Chris Mueller Not Injured, Just Cramped vs. RSL

Another City rookie was a part of an interesting sequence of events, this time from the pitch. Winger Chris Mueller substituted out of the match in the 73rd minute, as Stéfano Pinho came into the game.

Initially, the assistant referee announced Pinho was coming on for forward Justin Meram, but Mueller went to the ground before the official change happened. An unhappy Kreis said it was due to a cramp.

“Yeah, Chris just has a cramp, actually. And there’s quite a few of our guys cramping,” Kreis said. “So we need to look into that and address that ’cause that’s not something that I like too much. But it was a drastic situation, and so we did have to switch the sub.

“I thought Justin was running out of gas a little bit, but then I [spoke] to him, and he said he had a little bit more to give. And then he ran out of gas, as well.”

Mueller has been one of the most productive rookies this season, recording three goals and an assist in nine games, six starts and 589 minutes.

For more on the Lions, as they prepare for their rival from over the state border, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.