FIRST HALF
It was always going to be a tough match playing away against Louisville City FC, who have been in really strong form lately, but the lack of depth in Orange County SC's roster made it all the more difficult to find a result. Ryan Doghman returned from injury; however, a handful of crucial players were still missing. Kevin Partida, Seth Casiple, Cameron Dunbar, and Andrew Fox were all absent from the squad. Most of the available subs were academy players.
However, the county boys started quickly. Kyle Scott sent the ball to the left side so Christian Sorto could quickly find Doghman running down the line. Doghman crossed and Brian Iloski headed, but the effort, unfortunately, went straight into Damian Las' arms.
Moments later, Iloski had another chance to get on the scoresheet. Thomas Amang won a battle for the ball at the halfway line and sent a perfect through ball that gave Iloski a one-on-one with Las. This time, Iloski tried to sneak the shot past the keeper with the outside of his left foot, but Las was too quick off his line and made a huge stop to keep things level.
Thomas Amang didn’t score, but continued to be a thorn in the side of OC’s opposition and did well to set up Brian Iloski on Saturday evening. Photo courtesy of Orange County SC.
Besides those two close chances on goal, Orange County gifted most of the possession to Louisville City, allowing them to dominate the match's pace in the first half. Many unforced errors from OCSC, including more sloppy and rushed passing, provided Louisville with the freedom to constantly push into the box.
Louisville capitalized on these passing mistakes in the 19th minute after Doghman gained possession at the top of the box before gifting the ball up the middle of the pitch to Taylor Davilla. With a couple of quick passes, Wilson Harris got the ball back into OC's box and sent his shot low into the far corner to open the scoring.
Ray Serrano wanted to keep Louisville's momentum going, and he took two shots on goal within a few minutes, but Colin Shutler easily stopped both.
Louisville continued hammering away into the final third for the rest of the half. The only reason Orange County was able to keep them from netting another goal was due to the strength of their center backs, Markus Nakkim and Ashton Miles. Both were solid in shutting down their opponent's attacks in the box, meaning the first half ended in a messy, but still salvageable 1-0 scoreline.
SECOND HALF
OC immediately looked for an equalizer, again with another chance on goal from Brian Iloski. Amang passed to Iloski on the right side, who had acres of space to run with the ball down the field and into the box. His shot was on target, but Las saved again.
Unfortunately, Orange County SC’s lack of depth began to show its colors after Nakkim had to come off the field due to injury and got replaced by Bryce Jamison. This left OCSC with a massive hole in their defensive line.
It didn’t take long for Louisville to capitalize. Seven minutes after Nakkim was subbed off, the hosts found the net again. A through ball into the center of the box found Serrano, and this time he found the back of the net, doubling the lead.
The boys in orange and black nearly pulled things together in the 78th minute when Amang received the ball at the top of the box and quickly passed a through ball to Jamison, who crossed it across the center. Ethan Zubak was able to tap the ball into the net, giving Orange County hope, but the officials ruled that Zubak was offside.
While frustrated and exhausted after their goal got stripped away, Orange County SC still wasn't ready to give up. They did their best to find another opening with some plays from Jamison and Amang, but neither of their opportunities could find the desired target.
Louisville clinched the victory in the 86th minute when Jansen Wilson sent a fantastic shot from 25 yards out that beat Shutler’s save. For the first time this season, Orange County SC lost in an away match, with the scoreline ending 3-0 Louisville City FC.
OVERVIEW
Although Orange County SC had a few moments of excellent attacking pressure, largely thanks to the efforts of Brian Iloski, but they could not find a positive result on the road.
Louisville City FC controlled most of the match. OC were short in depth and wasteful in possession. They consistently gave the ball away in the midfield, and when it came time for the second half, and Markus Nakkim came off the pitch due to injury, they were outpaced and outplayed in every way.
Still, a loss against arguably the best team in the league is not a sign to start panicking. Orange County still sits in third place in the Western Conference, and if these early-season injuries can be resolved soon, this squad is still in a great place to turn things around and find some victories in their next couple of matches.
That chance will come next week when Orange County SC heads north for a California derby to face off against the Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, May 18th, at 7:00 pm PST.