This week, Orange County SC made the trip to Oklahoma to face off against FC Tulsa, hoping to fight for their first win in an away match this season.
FIRST HALF:
One element that Orange County SC has struggled with all season long is inconsistency in their lineup and available players. Either through injuries or suspension, some of OCSC's best talent has been absent, but looking at the lineup this Saturday, there were some welcome returns of both Kevin Partida and Ashish Chattha.
Within a minute of the match, Tulsa's defense fouled Marc McNulty just outside the box, giving them a fantastic opportunity to score early. The Orange and Black tried to make a quick short pass into the middle to set Milan Iloski up for the goal, but it was too crowded near the goal for Milan to find a clear opening for a shot on goal.
A couple of moments later, Tulsa got fouled a few feet outside the box, promising a physical match between the two teams. Colin Shutler came off his line in order to punch out the free-kick opportunity to keep things level.
Tulsa had the first actual attack on goal after Powers made a bad touch on the ball that went right to the feet of Moses Dyer. He took the ball up the right side of the box, beating all OC's defense, and shot toward the far post. Shutler dove to the ground in a brilliant save and narrowly pushed the shot away, allowing the defense to clear out the danger.
County's midfield was vital in the first half as the squad pushed forward with controlled combination passes between Kyle Scott, Seth Casiple, and Partida. Unfortunately, the struggle was always in the final pass or move toward goal that kept the setups from being critical. However, this all changed in the 26th minute after Scott pushed through multiple Tulsa players on the right side. He found Milan in the center of a crowded box, but with a beautiful first touch on his left foot to slow the pace down, he sent in a rocket of a shot in the back of the net and gave Orange County SC the lead of 1-0.
The momentum of that first goal lit a fire under OCSC, and they continued the offensive press, clearly looking to widen their lead. Only ten minutes later, they were gifted a penalty kick which Milan stepped forward in the hopes of earning a brace. Still, a weak shot to the right side allowed for a reasonably easy save by Michael Nelson to keep Tulsa competitive in this game.
SECOND HALF
One of the significant changes seen in this squad over the past month is a clear focus on playing a possessive game. OCSC out-possessed FC Tulsa in the first half due to their midfield strength, stopping Tulsa's attacks and creating more opportunities on the final third of the pitch.
Tulsa came onto the field hungry to get back into this match by putting a lot of pressure on Orange County's defense. This constant attack early on led to a foul at the top of the box, rewarding them with a dangerous free-kick position. They took a shot toward the goal, but it went wide and allowed OCSC to keep their lead.
After the free kick, OC made a few subs that saw Thomas Amang, Brian Iloski, and Daniel Pederson, hoping fresh legs on the field would help them keep the advantage.
Owen Lambe continued to impress with his defensive strength and his awareness on the pitch. In the 60th minute, he was able to win the ball and take it up the field, where he found Milan in an open lane towards the box with a fantastic low pass. Unfortunately, Tulsa's defense stopped Milan in his tracks, but seeing that kind of playmaking between this squad is refreshing.
Shutler also showed off exactly why he earned the starting keeper position as he made another spectacular save after another decisive strike from Dyer toward the corner of the net. In response, Brian Iloski found space and took the ball up the right side, and passed in the middle to his brother, who took a shot that hit the post. Soon after, Milan created a second chance where he gave Amang the ball right in front of the keep for what looked to be an easy goal, but Nelson did brilliantly punching away the shot to destroy such a fantastic chance on goal.
The rest of the half saw this back-and-forth battle rage on between the two teams. Each tried to capitalize on their counterattacks while the goalkeepers prevented any actual finishing touches. It was a heavily physical performance from each side, with 29 fouls in total. One of which gave Orange County a free kick in the 89th minute. Their captain, Markus Nakkim, stepped up and took the shot a few yards outside the box that ended up finding the back of the net gloriously, cementing their lead to 2-0.
In the final minutes of extra time, Tulsa fouled Amang in the box leading to the second penalty kick of the evening. Amang had better luck than Milan and extended the lead right before the final whistle to 3-0 with his first goal of the season.
OVERVIEW
Despite the hiccup in performance last week against Colorado Springs, Orange County SC has been playing significantly better in the past month. They are starting to excel and earn results due to a more significant focus on keeping possession, making smart and calculated passes, and even pressing much harder in the midfield.
This was the first win on the road for OCSC and their third clean sheet of the season. Yet, even though there is a lot of progress in their consistency as a squad, a glaring issue that continues to persist is the need for more strength in the finishing touches towards goal. This match could have easily been 5-0 instead of only winning by 3, and one can only hope that the offense starts playing to their full potential soon as a playoff spot looks possible.
They have one more game on the road next week against Detroit City FC on Saturday, June 24th, where they will try to earn their first consecutive win in a long time, all before returning to the Championship Stadium the following week for their tenth anniversary celebration.
