OC Take a Break From USL-C To Play a Fellow USL-C Team
It is going to be quite the historic night on Tuesday the 7th. There are a number of milestones that will occur as well as a number of different storylines to follow which means that there will be a lot to discuss.
The first main point will be this year’s Open Cup group. Orange County were placed in the “Mark Division” alongside fellow USL Championship clubs Las Vegas Lights FC and Loudoun United FC with LAFC of the MLS rounding out the group. Las Vegas gets the joy of hosting LAFC while Orange County were matched up with Loudoun United. A bit of an unconventional Open Cup opponent but that is just how the draw went. Nonetheless, Loudoun are still a professional side that OC must treat as such if they are to reach the Round of 16.
THE OPPONENT - LOUDOUN UNITED FC
Loudoun are still in the early phases of independence from their MLS development phase. In what is their second year of independent soccer they have gotten off to just an okay start. After eight league games, Loudoun found themselves with a 2-4-2 record and are currently ninth in the Eastern Conference. They did make a number of offseason moves with notable acquisitions like Drew Skundrich, Christiano Francois and Florian Valot. Loudoun and Orange County will actually play a league game later this month also in California and so we can look at them more in depth in a later preview.
What we are going to look at right now is Loudoun’s Open Cup path to this point. This is only the second time that Loudoun will take part in the Open Cup. Since Loudoun were one of the weaker USL sides last season, they entered the tournament last round and had to go on the road as well. Their opponent would be the Richmond Kickers of USL League One. The Kickers are a historic side dating back to 1993. It is only a 127 mile drive between Loudoun County and Richmond but the two sides needed kicks from the spot to determine who would advance. Loudoun would win the shootout 5-4 with keeper Dane Jacomen earning the clean sheet.
Loudoun are under the tutelage of Darren Sawatzky who is now in his sixth season as head coach.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Historically speaking, the Open Cup has not been a priority for Orange County until very recently. In fact last year was the first time that OC had advanced in the tournament in consecutive years. The Open Cup has often been a game that is mostly fielded with younger players with only a handful of regular first teamers also finding playing time. Due to a number of different factors there is virtually no sign as to what roster we will see for both teams.. Richmond are coming off a game in Virginia on Saturday so will most likely field a younger team.
On the Orange side of things it really is a matter of what the priority is for Morten Karlsen. This is Karlsen’s first ever Open Cup game as a manager who is also getting the luxury of playing after a break for OC. This means that nothing is out of the question about what kind of XI and bench we will see. With this being said, the player to watch for Orange County is Benjamin Barjolo. Barjolo is one the many prospects that Orange County has in their system. The 17-year-old has already made three appearances in league play but could very well find quality minutes on Tuesday. He is still looking for his first goal contribution and should be in the mix.
THE MATCHUP
It is quite nice that Orange County did not play last weekend since now they can treat this game just like a regular one. However since they will be playing away at Louisville on Saturday it is a possibility that we do not see some main guys in an effort to save them for the league games. What we do know is what milestones will occur on Tuesday:
First time in club history that Orange County will play against a USL Championship club in the Open Cup.
With OC entering in the round of 32, this is already the furthest that Orange County has advanced in the Open Cup.
First time in club history that Orange County will host an Eastern Conference team in a competitive non-league game.
Orange County in two previous games against Loudoun have won both pretty convincingly. However in Open Cup games Orange County is just a pedestrian 8-11 all time. This includes losses to some pretty questionable teams (PSA Elite, Fresno Fuego, LA Wolves FC, Orange County FC). While they have done better in recent years in the games they are expected to win, Orange County have yet to go on an exceptionally deep Cup run. This could be the year to fix that.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs Loudoun United FC (US Open Cup - Round of 32)
When - May 7th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - WLDWW
LOU Form - DLLDW
All-Time Matchup - 2-0-0
TV - USSoccer.com