Orange County SC will host Los Dos on Saturday night, hoping to enact some early revenge and pick up the victory over their local rivals.
It was a 2-1 loss to Los Dos late last season that knocked Orange County out of playoff contention. And while the playoffs are a few months away, this match will be important for OC to maintain their position in the Pacific Conference. OCSC are currently in fifth place on three points, while Los Dos are in second place on eight points. Going into this game, the visitors have played six matches, the most of any Western Conference side.
But it’s not expected that fatigue will be an issue, as Los Dos last played on Sunday, May 23. Instead, the squad cohesion is likely to pose a challenge for Orange County, much the way it did against Tacoma Defiance two weeks ago. Matches against Los Dos are often hotly-contested affairs with narrow margins of victory.
Last weekend’s victory felt something like a playoff match, and this is sure to be no different.
Orange County debuted a new 3-5-2 formation last week, and the formation proved to be steely against a barrage of attacks late on. Notably, club captain Michael Orozco now plays as a half-back, a holding midfielder that plays just a few meters in front of the back line. Head coach Braeden Cloutier suggested last week that the team would lineup in the same formation on Saturday.
Seth Casiple and Adam Jahn will miss out due to injury. Kobi Henry and Francis Jacobs will also miss out as they are currently representing OC in the Academy Cup.
Abraham Romero will feature against his former club for the first time, although he is unlikely to start due to Patrick Rakovsky’s stature in goal. Brian Iloski is another player who has a chance to haunt his former club.
The match kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time (3 a.m. +1 GMT) at Championship Stadium at the Orange County Great Park. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ for those in the US and on the USL YouTube channel for international viewers.
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