SAN DIEGO, Calif. (August 12, 2020) - Orange County SC picked up their first road win of the year and maintained their unbeaten start to 2020.
OC didn’t take long to bring excitement to the match: Seth Casiple chased a ball through the San Diego defense and shot, but the midfielder’s shot caromed off of the post.
At the other end of the pitch, Frederik Due was busy. The goalkeeper, making just his second appearance of the season, made a number of massive saves from both open play and set pieces to keep the hosts from scoring.
San Diego dominated possession throughout the half and earned a handful of corners through their attacking movement. Still, the Orange County defense remained resolute and kept the scoreline level.
OC made one change at the break, with Danny Crisostomo coming in for Rangers loanee Cammy Palmer.
Not long after the restart, San Diego had their biggest chance to open the scoring. Collin Martin found himself in space and shot, but couldn’t beat Due as Loyal earned another corner.
At the hour mark, OC broke forward down the left via Casiple. The midfielder played in Quinn, whose effort from distance was comfortably saved by Fenlason.
Five minutes later, an OC counterattack was successful. With San Diego playing a high line, Ugo Okoli connected with a long ball over the top, settled the ball at his feet, and found the bottom right corner from the top of the box.
OC didn’t sit back after the restart and immediately looked to score again. Brian Iloski slalomed through the Loyal defense, but his close range effort was blocked by Fenlason. Young Scot Danny Finlayson followed up, but his shot was also blocked.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, San Diego slowed play down and began to dominate possession again. Former Orange County forward Irvin Parra entered the match, with Loyal looking to the journeyman to find the equalizer.
Orange County continued to counterattack and looked dangerous on the breakaway, but neither Hoffman nor Okoli could find the second goal after a pair of chances.
At the hydration break, Edson Alvarado came on for Chandler Hoffman.
With 10 minutes remaining in the match, Due again came up big to deny Charlie Adams’ free kick attempt. San Diego continued searching for the equalizer, with Francis Atuahene finding space within the six, but the Ghanaian skied his shot off of the crossbar before being flagged offside.
Parra tried his luck from distance, and again Due made the save.
Against the run of play, Orange County doubled their lead. Alvarado, with his back to goal, laid the ball off to Quinn, and the San Diego native blasted his shot into the back of the net from 25 yards.
Kevin Alston replaced Brian Iloski with five minutes remaining.
SD Loyal continued pushing forward, but with pressure mounting and time running out, the hosts struggled to convert their chances.
Entering stoppage time, Alvarado found himself clear of the Loyal defense. The young midfielder rounded the goalkeeper but was unable to recover and the ball rolled out for a goal kick. He delayed the restart and was booked as a result.
OC earned a pair of free kicks in the San Diego half late on, but used the set pieces to run down the remainder of the clock and see out the victory.
Scoring:
1-0: 65’ Ugo Okoli
2-0: 84’ Aodhan Quinn (Edson Alvarado)
Discipline:
28’: (SD) Carlos Alvarez (yellow)
53’: (OC) Aodhan Quinn (yellow)
56’: (SD) Emrah Klimenta (yellow)
90+1’: (OC) Edson Alvarado (yellow)