Orange County SC is set to begin the 2020 USL Championship season against 2019 Western Conference Finalists El Paso Locomotive FC at 7pm on Friday, March 6.
Just four points separated the sides in 2019, with Orange County and El Paso occupying the fifth and sixth spots in the table. Head to head, both teams took three points at home with 2-0 victories, and both ultimately fell to eventual USL Cup Champions Real Monarchs SLC in the postseason.
All eyes will be on what the Orange County attack can bring. Photo courtesy of Liza Rosales/Orange County SC.
Orange County SC has 12 players returning from their 2019 campaign, with the addition of key players in midfielder Seth Casiple (Reno 1868), 2016 USL Golden Boot Winner Ugo Okoli (Pinzgau Saalfelden) and 2018 USL MVP finalist Thomas Enevoldsen (Sacramento Republic). If the offense finds their stride early in the game, it will certainly be an exciting match.
Much of El Paso’s success in 2019 came from their passing. The visitors tallied 18,405 passes in 2019, almost 1,400 more than any other Western Conference team. While El Paso will be without 2019’s top scorer in Jerome Kiesewetter, who moved to Inter Miami in the winter, Orange County’s defense will nonetheless need to provide a resolute performance to withstand the pressure and begin the 2020 campaign with a victory.
Both El Paso and Orange County will be without some other major names to open the season. Neither Omar Salgado (El Paso) nor Harry Forrester (Orange County) will feature. Both players will be serving suspensions after receiving red cards in the final matches of their respective 2019 seasons.
The match kicks off at 7pm Pacific at Championship Soccer Stadium at the Orange County Great Park. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN+ in the United States. $1 draft beers will be available during the hour preceding the kickoff. After the game, Orange County is hosting the first installment of the Friday Fireworks series.