Historic USL Matchup Between Two Strong Sides

Orange County SC are about to embark on their toughest three-game stretch of the entire season. This will see them play not only the top two teams in the Eastern Conference but also sees a trip to Sacramento to face the first place Republic one week from Saturday. With just how tight the playoff picture is for the Western Conference, there is not much room to falter. This comes even as OC have arguably been the best team in the league for the last month or so. The Black and Orange have done enough to make up for their poor start to the season and are facing the best teams at the right time. 

The first of three feats of strength is that of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The current USL league leaders, the Riverhounds are on a modest three-game win streak. They will however make the cross-country trip on a short weekend to Orange County, a place they have not been to since the 2013 season. 

As for OC, who are themselves undefeated in their last four, they are coming back from a much deserved one week break. It will be 10 days since Orange County last played a match which was the 3-1 victory down in San Diego. 

THE OPPONENT - PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC

Like Orange County SC is to the West, Pittsburgh is one of two teams in the East that have been with the USL since the very beginning. Having been officially founded in 1999, the club has spent time in the A-League, the previous incarnation of the USL, and even survived one year on hiatus in 2007. With all of the history present, the titles have been few and seldom. The Riverhounds have yet to win a title in either of their leagues but have a pair of regular season championships coming 15 years apart. This does not mean that they are pushovers in the slightest. In the last 5 years they have had an average final position of 3.4 in the Eastern Conference. 

This season Pittsburgh are playing their best soccer which has landed them as the first place team in all of the USL. Through 24 games played they have earned a total of 47 points however the most impressive stat is that of their defense which has only let in 20 goals; good enough for second in the USL. Thanks in part to this success is that of long-time head coach Bob Lilley. Lilley has established a winning culture in Pittsburgh who in turn earned his 100th victory for the Riverhounds. This is his sixth season in charge and will look to bring the Hounds their first title in franchise history. 

Both teams actually played last season in a September game in a match that saw OC shock Pittsburgh with a Milan Iloski last minute game-tying goal. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Pittsburgh is a good team for a number of different reasons but the most telling reason why is their defense. It is the center backs that are the backbone of the defense and for the Hounds that man is Spaniard Arturo Ordonez. Ordonez is in his second season with the club in which he joined after playing college soccer for the University of Pittsburgh. The Riverhounds have registered consecutive shutouts and Ordonez is a big component to that success. Likewise at the forefront, Albert Dikwa leads his team in goals with 12 this season. Dikwa scored for Pittsburgh the last time these two teams played and has really blossomed as a forward since coming over to Pittsburgh. He had previously played for Saint Louis FC and the Orlando City SC B team where in three combined years he only scored 3 goals. 

On the orange side of things, we are going to look at a new acquisition to the club in the form of Kevin Lankford. The German-born forward joined OC midseason as part of a loan deal with Viktoria Köln. He has already made two appearances with the Black and Orange as a left-back which goes to show his versatility since his main position is that of forward, a position OC has a surplus of. Lankford has played for a number of German professional clubs including 1. FC Heidenheim, FC St. Pauli, SV Wehen Wiesbaden, and now Viktoria Köln where he is still under contract for. Lankford did play internationally for the United States for the U19 team. In his career, the 24 year old has scored 9 goals. 

THE MATCHUP

This is quite a historical matchup with regards to the USL. As mentioned earlier, OC and Pittsburgh are two of three teams that were with the USL Championship since the first season in 2011. The third team is the Charleston Battery who OC will host on Saturday the 19th. This matchup is noteworthy for the fact that it is one that OC have dominated with a 4-1-2 all-time record against the Hounds. Both teams played last season in Pittsburgh to a 1-1 draw which was the first time they had met since the 2014 season. Likewise the last time that the Riverhounds had played a game in Orange County goes all the way back to the 2013 season where the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski registered the clean sheet for the then Orange County Blues FC. 

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL Championship)

When - August 16, 7:00 PM PST

Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)

OCSC Form - WWWWL

PIT Form - WWWLL

All-Time Matchup - 4-1-2

TV - ESPN+, Bally Sports SoCal