On August 18, 2021 the mood around Orange County SC was not a very joyful one. They had just been beaten by the Tacoma Defiance in a 0-3 rout at home on a cold and rainy night. That mediocre game came after an equally mediocre form that saw the team give up late goals, lose to low-table teams and overall looked out of shape. For then head coach Braedan Cloutier, the Tacoma game served as the dagger and he was sacked after four seasons as head coach of Orange County SC.
For Orange County, the decision to sack a manager mid season was not an easy one to make. Under Cloutier’s tenure the club was quite successful. In Cloutier’s four seasons, the club qualified for the playoffs twice, had the best record in the Western Conference in 2018 and made it to the Western Conference Finals that season as well. At the time of his sacking, Cloutier had amassed a record of 64 wins, 47 losses, and 33 draws across all competitions; very respectable numbers. However he was unable to win a title. His replacement for the time being would be his assistant Richard Chaplow.
Chaplow himself was a part of those successful teams. Richard joined OC during the 2016 season as a midfielder and was an important piece at that. Across his three seasons with OC as a player, Chaplow made 49 appearances while tallying four goals. After his retirement following the 2018 season, Chaplow was hired onto Cloutier’s staff as an assistant coach.
After the Tacoma game, Chaplow was named as the interim manager following Cloutier’s dismissal. By this point in the season, OC were a mid-table team and had lost five of their last 9 matches. Chaplow’s first game at the helm proved to be very much an important one. It would be the first of 13 games to close out the regular season which would see OC play a Pacific division opponent 11 times, and the first of those would be away at San Diego.
San Diego at this point were having a very good season as well under head coach Landon Donovan. In what some have dubbed the South Coast Derby, Orange County and San Diego is one of the more anticipated matchups for both fanbases. It would be the third time the two sides had met that season and second time at San Diego with the advantage having gone to the Loyal. Most would expect OC under an interim-head coach in his first game at the helm against a local rival to be dispatched easily.
OC would win the game 2-1.
It was a much needed victory with regards to playoffs yet the story remained the same as OC would only win two of their next seven games. Then almost two months after Chaplow’s appointment, Orange County would go on their greatest run of form in club history. After beating Phoenix 1-0 on October 13, OC would win 9 straight games including the 2021 playoffs that would culminate in a 3-1 victory in Tampa Bay to earn Orange County their first ever championship in club history. During this run of form OC would have a goal differential of +8 while the OC defense totaled 6 shutouts.
It is no secret as to how OC won their first and only title. It was won with excellent defense and forward Ronaldo Damus leading the charge offensively. Yes Orange County needed penalty kicks twice to move on and had a heavy home schedule yet they did what was needed to secure USL glory.
It could have been the start of a period of dominance for Orange County but unfortunately soccer is a cruel game. The 2022 season came with a heap of expectations for Orange County and Chaplow. As a reward for leading the club, Chaplow was named the full-time head coach before the 2022 season. While the coach remained the same the team saw lots of upheaval.
When comparing the starting XI of the 2021 USL final and the first game of the 2022 season, only three players remained the same. With the offseason following the championship, a number of key pieces moved on from the club. Notable ones included Ronaldo Damus, Kevin Alston, Eric Calvillo, Nathan Smith, and Thomas Eenvoldsen. The only three starters from that 2021 finals team that started in the 2022 opener were Patrick Rakovsky, Michael Orozco and Mikko Kuningas. If OC were to repeat it would have to be done with an almost entire new team.
Repeating is something that Chaplow and OC would fail to do the next season. After winning the USL championship, Orange County would only earn a club-low 34 points on only 7 victories. Like the OC teams before Chaplow that failed to win, it was blown leads and injuries to key players that ultimately doomed OC. While Milan Iloski served as a lone bright spot securing a golden boot for his efforts, many of the new OC personnel ultimately failed to carry on the winning ways established the year prior.
It was obvious that repeating was a very difficult task with off the field issues paired with a strengthened schedule. Thus it may seem as if Chaplow was given a pass considering circumstances. The 2023 season roster was crafted with an emphasis on defense with new signings and the return of Milan Iloski to carry the offense as he had done the previous season. Through 8 league games however the ship has yet to be righted and it ultimately culminated on May 1 in which Chaplow was relieved of his duties as head coach.
Cloutier in 2021 was sacked after going a combined 2-5-3 in his previous 10 games, before a game against San Diego, and was replaced by a member of his own staff. As fate would have it, Chaplow has been sacked after going 2-5-3 in all competitions in his 10 previous, has been sacked prior to a matchup with San Diego, and will be replaced by his assistant Morten Karlsen. The hiring of Chaplow mid-season in 2021 led to OC lifting the title and thus we will now see if interim manager Karlsen can do the same thing.
Even though tactically Chaplow-ball might not have been the most glorious style of soccer to watch, nor did it result in many wins, Richard Chaplow was able to lead Orange County into its first final in club history and more importantly its first title. The English former midfielder gave OC fans a lifetime of memories and a shiny trophy to cherish.
We do not know what is in store for either Richard Chaplow, his family, or for Orange County Soccer Club. It could very well be another lost season for OC or it could be another deep playoff run. What we do know for certain is that Richard Chaplow came in at a point where OC lacked a bit of identity and was able to find the right style of play that fit his team. In a glorious case of getting hot at the right time, Chaplow was able to create a stout defensive gameplan and had a strong Haitian forward by the name of Damus to bag him a goal a game.
As a fan that was there for each and every home game of Chaplow’s tenure, there for every blown lead and painful defeat, Richard Chaplow will forever be remembered as the first and only coach to win a championship for Orange County SC.