California Derby With Massive Ramifications on Saturday
Orange County SC with a win on Saturday can break a club record for most consecutive wins in the regular season. Orange County SC can further solidify a guaranteed home playoff game on Saturday. Orange County SC will face off against Sacramento Republic FC, the Western Conference leaders in points and longtime USL rival.
The month of August has been the toughest stretch of the season by a wide margin with each opponent being in the top five of their respective conference (San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Charleston). The last opponent OC will face in August, Sacramento, will continue this trend as they are first in the Western Conference at 48 points. OC will enter the contest tied for third in the West with 40 points.
Orange County SC will have to go for 3 points without their leading scorer Milan Iloski. Iloski picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Charleston which resulted in a one game suspension. The forward depth, which has been good for OC this season, will have a big task at hand.
THE OPPONENT - SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC
The Quails of Sacramento are the current Western Conference leaders and have virtually held that position for what seems to be the entire year. Heading into Saturday, they have compiled a record of 13-9-3. They have scored 42 goals this season while only conceding 18 goals, which gives them the best defense in the USL. Head coach Mark Briggs is in his fourth season but is looking at his best year to date. Likewise, Sacramento are also celebrating their 10 years as a club with a commemorative game at their original ground Hughes Stadium. The match just so happens to be the one Orange County find themselves in.
As mentioned before, the Republic have only lost 3 games all year. It just so happens that one of those losses came at the hands of Orange County. The first time these two teams played came back on May 17 and saw OC hand the Republic the first loss of the season in a 1-0 effort in Irvine. That match would be the first win of the Morten Karlsen era with Milan Iloski scoring the only tally in the game. The Republic have cooled off a bit since the beginning of the season, squeaking by teams like Monterey Bay, Las Vegas, and Birmingham while also losing to New Mexico.
It will be an emotionally-charged Republic side playing in a 20,000 capacity stadium on a night that celebrates one of the fellow historic USL franchises.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sacramento Republic will have a new weapon in the newly acquired Cristian Parano. Parano has made a name in the USL as one of the best young players that the league has to offer. However it might come as a surprise to some just why a player of this caliber would be dealt away and to another USL team. Parano made his USL debut with San Antonio FC in the 2019 season where he would spend two years as part of his first stint. A move to Europe would come and go and Parano would eventually be loaned back to San Antonio where he would resign before this season. Parano used an opt-out clause in his contract to depart from San Antonio and would end up signing with the Republic. Parano made his debut in Sacramento’s 3-1 win against Loudoun and would come away with an assist.
For Orange County SC, the midfielder that will play opposite Parano is that of Kyle Scott. Scott, like a number of OC players, has flown a bit under the radar when it comes to his play. This season alone Kyle Scott has made 23 appearances to go along with his 3 assists that he has been responsible for. With no Milan available, the offensive output will need to be deadly in order for OC to knock off Sacramento again.
THE MATCHUP
This will be the 25th ever regular season matchup between the two sides. The all-time matchup between the two sides is a perfect 10-10-5 which also includes one postseason game. As mentioned before this game will not be played at the current home of Sacramento Republic but rather Hughes Stadium which sits on the campus of Sacramento City College. Hughes Stadium served as the home stadium for the first four games of Sacramento’s inaugural season in 2014. For Orange County a win would not only match the longest streak in the USL Championship this season but would also be a club record for the franchise in its 13th season of play.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - @ Sacramento Republic FC (USL Championship)
When - August 26, 7:30 PM PST
Where - Hughes Stadium (Sacramento, CA)
OCSC Form - WWWWW
SAC Form - WDWWW
All-Time Matchup - 10-10-5
TV - ESPN+, Bally Sports SoCal