Orange County SC are halfway through their 2024 preseason. Now with Morten Karlsen as permanent head coach, OCSC are going into the regular season with lofty expectations to win the cup after last year’s heartbreak in the conference finals. To prepare for it, the preseason schedule is made up of a variety of opponents, from college teams all the way up to a MLS squad. And as always, it started against LMU.

GAME #1 - Loyola Marymount Lions

The first preseason tilt, OCSC played a handful of trialists alongside first teamers like Shutler, Doghman, and Amang. It would be the first appearance for a number of off-season acquisitions as well, with the first one being Chistian Sorto, an offensive midfielder who joined from Miami FC. From what we know, OCSC controlled the first half but were unable to score, and thus came halftime it remained 0-0. 

The second half saw an almost completely new lineup, which meant even more new players to debut. Entering the game came goalkeeper Duran Ferree (on loan from San Diego FC), winger Charlie Asensio (previously at Austin FC II), and forward Ethan Zubak (previously at Nashville SC). Like the first half, OC would mostly control the game but had to wait for their breakthrough. Then, in the 77th minute, the first goal of the game and the preseason arrived, courtesy of Mohamadou War, an open tryout selection. Ethan Zubak would soon follow suit in the 85th, with his first for OC, in what turned out to be the winner. LMU would get one back shortly after off a turnover, but Orange County would go on to win their first preseason game 2-1.

GAME #2 - UCI Anteaters

Orange count then faced off against the Anteaters. OCSC and UCI have quite the history, with the club once calling the university’s facilities “home,” and signing a handful of Anteaters, like Ashish Chattha, to professional contracts.
Unlike the previous game, Karlsen fielded a lineup that looked to be pretty close to what we can expect for the regular season with Shutler, Fox, Nakkim, Asensio, Scott, Casiple, Iloski, Sorto, Zubak, and Jamison. There remained just one trialist, at right back. Despite the amount of professional experience on the field, OC could not seem to muster anything productive in front of the opposition goal, struggling with the final touches to find the back of the net. To compound matters, UCI would score the game's first goal off a turnover in front of Shutler. The first half would end 0-1. 

As is the norm for the preseason, the second half saw an entirely new 11 play. It was a majority of the remaining first teamers that did not play in the first half, along with a handful of younger players coming onto the pitch. The most notable of these players would be midfielder Sofiane Djeffal (Austin FC II). Benjamin Barjolo (OCSC II) would also make an appearance. It would be Djeffal and Barjolo who would be the best offensive players for OC in the second half, still, neither them, nor the rest of the team could challenge the UCI keeper, and the game would end up as a 0-1 defeat. 

GAME #3 - LAFC II

The preseason results really do not matter. This is a statement that should be hammered down into every fan and is one that is statistically proven to be true. (Editor’s note: Remember 2018? We just scraped a 1-0 victory over UCI, to the sound of a lot of groans, before ultimately finishing top of the Western Conference.) But this is mentioned because OCSC would, spoiler, also lose this game by a 0-1 scoreline. This game was very similar to the UCI match, and it must be said that the finishing was… not the most impressive. There were a number of chances that were either fired wide or right at the keeper. Of course, if a team has a lot of chances to score, then the midfield must be doing a good job, and that was the case here. Seth Casiple, Kevin Partida and right back Owen Lambe had ease playing through the LAFC II lines. Ethan Zubak also had an outstanding half, even if he did not find himself on the scoresheet. A positive half for OC, but no goals scored for either side. 0-0.

The squad in the second half was a much younger one, with players like Nico Ruiz, Taj Eagleston, and Ashton Miles coming on to fight for a spot in the starting lineup. The youth showed a bit as well as LAFC II fought back and began to up the pressure on OC. Still, the game’s best performance came from one of OC’s young players, loanee Duran Ferree. Ferree was poised in the net, dealing with a number of advances into his box. Unfortunately, LAFC II would ultimately break the deadlock in the 87th minute and Orange County fell for a second game 0-1. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

The biggest question going into the season is going to be who will score the goals in the absence of Milan Iloski. A good number of depth pieces were brought to the club over the winter, but the team’s success likely boils down to where they can get their goals from. With the defensive and middle thirds set for the most part, it will be up to players like Zubak, Dunbar, Amang, Jamison, and Sorto to compete for the top spot.

They will have four more preseason games to determine who will get that top spot, with their next chance coming on Wednesday, February 21, against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The game will be played at 1 p.m. in Indio, CA.