Top Two Teams in the West Face Off in Southern California
THE MATCHUP
The draw in Northern California was the 26th all-time regular season appearance between the two USL clubs. Add on another postseason encounter in 2016 and that makes this Saturday the 28th game for OC against Sacramento, their third-most against one team. Yet even for all of this parity, Sacramento has had very limited success when playing in Championship Soccer Stadium. In the six total games played at the Champ, Sacramento has only won once. That one win came all the way back in 2018 (FUN FACT: That game was my first ever OCSC game). It could even be said that OC has had the number of Sacramento the past couple of years going 5-1-3 since 2021.
On top of all this is the fact that OC has the chance to make club history. If Orange County can avoid defeat then that would set a mark for the longest unbeaten streak to start a season at seven games.
One thing that has been shown in the 2024 OCSC season is that this is a resilient team. They have had to deal with a lot of injuries to the starting XI while having played a number of tough away games. Yet they have found a way to earn a point in every game up to this point with a large number of players scoring goals. For a club that historically does not start off well, Morten Karlsen’s first full year as head coach has been pretty positive.
The schedule does not get any easier this week as OC welcomes an old rival to Southern California. Sacramento Republic are off to a very good start themselves. Both teams through six games are both 3-3-0 and remain as the only remaining undefeated teams in the Western Conference. This includes the week 1 matchup in Sacramento that saw the game end in a 2-2 draw.
Both these teams are heavy favorites to not only win the West but also win the USL with Saturday night being a massive game for both.
THE OPPONENT - SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC
This is the first return leg of the year for OC, as well as Sacramento, but it is a leg that favors Orange County at the moment. Sacramento are still undefeated up to this point. They are still a very solid group that has only conceded 2 goals in their last five games. As stated in a previous article, Sacramento are a defensive team by nature and that still reigns true. The offense is really just Trevor Amann who has scored four of the club’s eight goals. Two of those four came against Orange County. Their last time out saw them only earn a draw against a Tulsa side playing down a man for more than 70 minutes. Sacramento had a huge number of shots (26) but were only able to get one thanks in part to Rodrigo Lopez.
One player that could make an appearance who did not the first time is Russell Cicerone. The first game of the year has been the only game missed for Cicerone who to start his year already has one goal and one assist. He will be another dangerous attacking option for the OC backline to keep tabs on.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Really no player is more of the face of a club than what Lopez is for Sacramento. Across three different stints with the Republic, Lopez has logged 127 appearances, 38 goals, 30 assists all across 9,611 minutes played. The 35-year-old midfielder has played for 13 different professional clubs across his career including stops at four in the USL. He even found himself making 23 appearances for the Los Angeles Blues in 2013. Sacramento has been a premier club in the USL in their lifetime and Lopez is a big part of that.
editor’s note: You might’ve heard Rodrigo Lopez’s 10-year old son needs heart surgery, and a GoFundMe has been established. If you have the means to help Rodrigo’s family, please consider it.
On the orange side of things it was the surprise club debut for one Duran Ferree last week in San Antonio. Ferree is the only current player on loan to Orange County currently under the ownership of San Diego FC who are set to begin playing games in 2025. Ferree has created a name for himself in the soccer world at only 17 years of age. Ferree began his professional career with the San Diego Loyal where he made 6 appearances as a teenager. On top of this he also was a member of the USMNT U-17 team and is a prospect for the senior team. Ferree now finds himself on loan to OC for one year and made his club debut last weekend in a very hostile San Antonio environment. Ferree showed his incredible talent making three saves and easily keeping the San Antonio offense off the scoreboard. Ferree was the best player for OC and could very well make a second start depending on the health of Colin Shutler.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs Sacramento Republic FC (USL Championship)
When - April 20, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - DWWDW
SAC Form - DWWDW
All-Time Matchup - 11-10-6
TV - Bally Sports SoCal, ESPN+