“We are going to be fighting in a way that you haven’t seen in a long time, probably since 2018! You got brawlers on this team, you got a heart that we haven’t had every year the last couple of years.”
-James Keston, Owner Orange County Soccer Club
…And fought they did!
As the mist slowly fell from the Southern California sky, Orange County Soccer Club indeed showed a fighting spirit, right until the final whistle, in an opening night loss to Eastern Conference powerhouse, Louisville City FC.
As to be expected, you could see the disappointment on the faces of many of the lads as they left the wet and slippery pitch. It’s the opening night of the season and you want to start strong. Newcomer Markus Nakkim (he’s HUGE BTW) showed his strength, just 18 seconds into the game, with a beautiful sliding tackle to stop Louisville as they attempted their first quick counterattack. At the end of the game, when he stopped to greet the County Line Coalition, you could clearly see his disappointment.
Others had the same look as they passed by me on their way to the locker room. Fiercest of competitors, Milan Iloski, newcomer Ash Chattha (who came OH so close to scoring a brilliant header in his professional debut), and Captain Daniel Pedersen were all clearly disheartened after the loss to open the season.
An early goal by Louisville was a blow, and they kept their foot on the gas for most of the rest of the first half. The Orange and Black bent but did not break.
A long throw, in the 9th minute from veteran Brent Richards, led to Nakkim peppering 2022 Golden Glove winner Kyle Morton from close range. A year ago, it would have been 20 minutes after giving up a goal before OC would show back up. I believe this is the fight owner James Keston spoke of on the Podcast pre-game show.
Listen y’all, Louisville is GOOD! They are REALLY good. They did not let the home team get comfortable with the ball. The Orange and Black bent but didn’t break.
County fought back, and in the 39th minute, Kevin Partida opened his season (and OCSC) account with a banger into the top far corner.
I asked Kevin, after the game, how he felt and he had this to say, “Obviously disappointed. The goal was a high in the moment but it would have helped, feeling wise, if the goal had mattered a little more.”
But make no mistake about it, this goal mattered! After being down early, it showed all of us, this team has fight!
Orange County spent the entirety of the second half in Morton’s face and he was forced to be on his toes.
THIS TEAM HAS FIGHT!
The 3-1 scoreline does not tell the full story of this game. The heart and, again, FIGHT OC, showed tells the story.