There’s a game to talk about, but much of the future commentary in the coming weeks won’t be focused on the gameplay Saturday night’s contest.

In new head coach Morten Karlsen’s Orange County debut game against Southern California rivals San Diego Loyal,the team ended up on the wrong end of a 2-1 loss to start the month of May. Tensions are always high during meetings between these two teams, and this was no different. Within the first minute of the game, OCSC legend Ronaldo Damus was on display with his new team as he received a long ball over the top, outran defenders, and took a shot. Thankfully, this one went wide, but it was a bittersweet return to Championship Stadium for the 2021 USL Championship Game MVP.

Damus would show up again, this time on an assist to Tumi Moshobane in the 15’. Alex Villanueva was put under pressure by Nick Moon, which caused a sloppy giveaway to Damus, who fed Moshobane in the box. Moon got involved again just two minutes later as he drew contact from a poor tackle by Villanueva in the box. Joe Corona stepped up to the spot and converted the penalty, putting OCSC in a 2-0 hole just 18’ into the game.

OCSC did generate chances, including a good combination between Brian Iloski and Ashish Chattha in the 21’. The shot was a difficult angle, but it was a welcome change in tactics under new head coach Morten Karlsen. There has been a lot of criticism aimed at Richard Chaplow for his insistence on sending balls over the top instead of playing through the midfield, and there were a few instances in Saturday’s game that showed how dangerous OCSC can be when the ball is kept on the ground. The best example of this came in the third minute of stoppage to close out the first half. Villanueva intercepted a pass by Alejandro Guido in OC’s half. A quick dribble and pass to Milan Iloski in the midfield was immediately turned into a through ball to Emil Nielsen down the left side. Nielsen outran Grant Stoneman and launched a shot that had keeper Koke Vegas frozen. Excitement turned to agony as the shot bounced off the left post in what would be the last significant play of the first half.

OCSC kept the pressure on, but they would not score until the sixth minute of stoppage time at the end of the game, a brilliant header by Korede Osundina off a free kick served in by M. Iloski. Osundina was subbed on in the 83’ for Nielsen, and he immediately made an impact on the game. Osundina will be challenging for starting minutes, especially if he continues to put in performances like this.

By the time of the goal, Loyal was playing down a man after Moon was shown his second yellow in the fifth minute of stoppage. There were a total of 12 cards-11 yellow, 1 red-given out during the game, a bulk of which came in the 59’ and 60’.

The sequence of events that led to a nine minute stoppage in play began with a tackle by B. Iloski that sent Damus to ground. Moon came up after and shoved B. Iloski to the ground, and all hell broke loose. Orange and green jerseys collided as both teams rushed in to defend their teammates, and there was confusion in the stadium. As the stoppage continued, no one could quite determine what the delay was for. The head referee spoke with players and coaches from both teams trying to sort something out. When play resumed in the 68’, Orange County had made a triple substitution, bringing on Bryce Jamison, Seth Casiple, and Marc McNulty as replacements for B. Iloski, Kevin Partida, and Kyle Scott. Bewildered fans watched as the teams continued through 90 minutes of regulation and 17 minutes of added time. San Diego came away with the victory, but the real question was what had caused such a disturbance in the middle of the game.

Shortly after the game concluded, Orange County socials posted the following statement:

*Editor’s Note: Although the events from Saturday’s game are being investigated, Orange and Black SoccerCast would like to condemn any discriminatory behaviors in the sport based on a persons Race, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Religion or any other means. There is no place in this sport for this behavior, ever.