Orange County SC took to the pitch with a solid starting lineup. However, the absence of Kevin Partida and Kyle Scott created some concern about how the OC midfield could hold on without two of their most crucial pieces.

FIRST HALF

Both teams started out with a hunger for an early goal, but Memphis was the first to find an opening. In the second minute, they broke into OC's final third, and a couple of quick passes into the box left Jon Bakero with a golden opportunity to shoot. Luckily for Orange County, the shot was nowhere near the target.

A few minutes later, the County Boys got a free kick 20 yards outside the box to create their first opportunity to score. Seth Casiple sent in a cross, and Bryce Jamison volleyed a shot to the far post that looked beautiful but met the woodwork to keep things scoreless.

It seemed that Memphis 901 knew a goal would come from outside the box. They attempted to fire a shot from beyond the 18 a few times in the first half, but Colin Shutler easily stopped everything.

Cameron Dunbar's unfortunate luck in front of goal continued after he took a shot toward the goal that would have been buried in the top corner, save for a deflection that sent the ball out for a corner instead.

Despite not having most of the possession in the first half, the boys in orange and black seemed like they had more potential when moving forward, largely thanks to the chemistry between Ashish Chattha and Casiple. They were able to take control of the middle of the pitch and utilize quick passing to Memphis to leave the wings open for Jamison and Dunbar to force a handful of set-piece opportunities.

Still, neither side could find the perfect moment, and the first half ended scoreless.

SECOND HALF

Both teams' aggression ramped up to 11 in the second half, as yellow cards were handed out left and right for some risky tackles.

In the 52nd minute, Memphis nearly received a penalty when Owen Lambe and Dylan Borczak were battling shoulder-to-shoulder on a long ball over the top. Borczak fell right at the 18, and a foul was given, but not the penalty. Noe Meza took the shot; it went over the wall and toward the net, but Shutler made a huge save to keep things level.

Ryan Doghman nearly repeated his brilliant goal-scoring performance from last week in the 62nd minute. Dunbar returned for a pass from the back line, which opened a path for Doghman to make a run. The pass connected, and Doghman did well in beating his man and cutting in toward the center for a shot toward the far post. It was almost identical to his goal last week, but the Memphis keeper, Tyler Deric, parried the ball away.

Orange County SC seemed to have the upper hand in the second half, and a second yellow card to Lucas Turci completely changed the fate of Memphis 901 and left them only on the defensive for the remainder of the match.

Down to ten men, Memphis reverted their strategy to a back five with apparent hopes that they could hold off Orange County's offense until penalty kicks. For the remainder of the half, their plan worked, but the County Boys were unable to break down the defense to find a goal in regular time.

EXTRA TIME:

Danny Stone was ready for the potential of extra time in this match, saving his subs till the very end of the second half. Thomas Amang, Christian Sorto, and Ben Norris all came in, hoping to boost the offense.

Sorto nearly found the moment three minutes into extra time with a volley off a corner kick that went straight toward the low near corner, but Deric made a solid save to prevent the winner.

The boys in orange and black had complete control of the match's final moments, mainly held in their opponent's box. But it wasn't until the 116th minute that the victor was decided: with their constant pressure, OC earned a corner. Casiple chose to go short, passing it to Dunbar, who made a quick movement to lose his defender and floated a cross to the back post. Dillon Powers met the ball and headed powerfully into the back of the net, giving Orange County SC a 1-0 with only minutes to spare.

Borczak tried to equalize quickly with a header of his own, but Shutler made a diving save to keep his team in the lead.

To cap things off, Norris almost scored his first goal of the season in the last minute of play. Amang created some chaos in the box, and the ball ended at Norris' feet, where he sent a rocket toward the goal. However, the midfielder lifted his shot into the crossbar, and Orange County had to settle for a 1-0 victory over Memphis 901 FC.

OVERVIEW:

Before the red card that undoubtedly helped Orange County SC score the winning goal, they still performed extremely well. Their success was unsurprisingly due to their back line. Markus Nakkim, Owen Lambe, Ryan Doghman, Dillon Powers, and Colin Shutler were locked in for the whole match and kept Memphis 901 FC from making any real dangerous attempts on goal.

Powers eventually found the goal, but it wasn't just the defense that performed well in the first round of the USL Playoffs. Bryce Jamison especially looked hungry all match to find a goal, and if he can continue that momentum, he may be a key to propelling OCSC to the finals.

The players on the pitch make the magic happen, but Danny Stone also had a stellar performance managing the match. Trusting his squad to hold on for almost 90 minutes before making a sub showed that he is a manager prepared to fight in the playoffs that may end in extra time, like this past weekend.

The late victory allows Orange County SC to move on to round two, where they will travel again to face off against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday, November 9th at 3:30 PM PST.