The Beginning Of What Could Be the Biggest Year for OCSC

Expectations and excitement levels are always high at the beginning of new seasons. But this season might just take that to a whole other level. For Orange County SC, the pieces are there to compete for another USL title. It is the first full season for now full-time head coach Morten Karlsen. The first with certainty around calling Championship Soccer Stadium “home" for the next few years. It is also the first time that OCSC will don kits created by Danish company Hummel.

With such an eventful offseason, the regular season begins with Orange County on the road for their first two match days. This will be the first time since 2017 (pre Championship Stadium) that this has happened. As mentioned before, this was the first full offseason for Morten Karlsen to have an impact on, and the club brought in a number of attacking options to offset the departure of one Milan Iloski. Orange County will get to see their new weapons against a very familiar opponent in Sacramento Republic FC.

THE OPPONENT - SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC

Sacramento’s season goals are similar to OC’s: it is a USL title or bust. Last year’s campaign ended in the Western Conference Finals at the hands of Phoenix, much like Orange County’s did in the previous round. In response, SRFC added more firepower while keeping the rest of the core mostly intact, yet another similarity between the two sides.

This will be the tenth year as a franchise for the Republic, who played their inaugural season back in 2014, and managed to win the league in their first attempt. It was also the last time that Sacramento qualified for the USL Final. It would be a proper 10-year achievement if they could duplicate that this year.

Mark Briggs is Sacramento’s head coach, and it is his fifth year in the role. Briggs, after a rough 2020, has been successful, reaching the Open Cup final in 2022 before winning the Western Conference last year. With this year’s roster being arguably better than last season, expect Sacramento to be a major player in the West.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sacramento are known as a defensively-focused team. Jack Gurr is just one of the many stalwarts for the Republic. The right back is entering his third year with the club and was previously named as a finalist for USL Defender of the Year. He is one of the better offensive wingbacks in the league, having tallied 6 goals himself.

But news out of the capital was dominated by the acquisition of one Trevor Amann. The 25-year old forward has made Sacramento his fourth career club, but is best known for time with the Northern Colorado Hailstorm of USL League One. In his two years with Northern Colorado, Amann netted 28 goals in 57 appearances. His play was good enough to earn him 2023 Player of the Year honors, as well as the League One Golden Boot award. Amann scored 23 goals last campaign, setting a USL League One record.

For Orange County, the biggest question going into this season was “who would replace Milan Iloski?” The club brought in a number of acquisitions, but the main one is that of former LA Galaxy man Ethan Zubak. Born in Corona, Zubak made his professional debut within the LA Galaxy system, where he split his time between the first team and the reserves. The majority of Zubak’s offensive output came with the reserves, where he scored 26 goals across five seasons. Production never quite arrived in his stints with LA Galaxy or Nashville SC, but he now finds himself with OCSC who have seen a number of former fringe MLS players find home and reignite their careers. Expect Zubak to slot in as the central forward and to make his OC debut this Saturday.

THE MATCHUP

This will be the first time that both teams meet each other on opening weekend of the season. Last campaign, Orange County were able to do the double over their NorCal opponents, including a 2-0 victory in Sacramento. In their 10 years of facing each other in the league, the two sides are an even 10-10-5 in their match ups.

Historically, the first game of the season has been rough for OCSC. In their 13 opening games of the regular season, they have only won three times, with their last win coming in 2017 against Reno 1868 FC.

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - @ Sacramento Republic FC (USL Championship)

When - March 9, 7:00 PM PST

Where - Heart Health Park (Sacramento, CA)

OCSC Form - LWWWW

SAC Form - LWWWW

All-Time Matchup - 11-10-5

TV - CBS Sports Golazo Network, Paramount Plus, Bally Sports