Dog Days of Summer Coming A Bit Early for OC

I for one do not like to gloat on the negatives when it comes to Orange County SC. At their full potential they are one of the stronger sides in the USL Championship with a recent pedigree of on-field success as well as operating a strong academy full of talent.

Keeping this in mind makes the recent form of play not that hard to swallow. Losers of five of their last seven league games, OC have had a tough time finishing out games on top. Last week they conceded a goal while up a man in a match that they should have gotten at minimum a point from. This was a game that saw eight players not available due to injury with really no timetable for a number of them due to club policy.

It was the first of three consecutive away games for Orange County. As part of their summer road trip, they go from the desert to the highest stadium in the United States.

THE OPPONENT - COLORADO SPRINGS SWITCHBACKS FC

One of the hotter teams in the USL, the Switchbacks are in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten run. This is impressive in itself but made even more so by the fact they lost their first five to start the year. What changed in that span? The offense found its groove.

During their five-game losing skid they were held scoreless four times. Since then they have found the back of the net in all of their games. The argument could be made that their schedule has played a big part in their season. During that losing skid four of those losses came against Detroit City, San Antonio, Sacramento and Phoenix. Conversely their five wins have come against Oakland twice, El Paso, Hartford and Rhode Island. This is the first season in charge for James Chambers as he replaced Stephen Hogan was promoted to Sporting Director. The Switchbacks are looking to reach the postseason for a fourth consecutive season and are doing so with the help of an old friend.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ronaldo Damus has been still very much the type of forward from his magical 2021 season with Orange County. Currently under contract with Swedish side GIF Sundsvall who have loaned him back to the USL twice now. Last year he was gifted to San Diego Loyal and played a big part in qualifying for the playoffs. With Loyal no more and Sundsvall thinking best for Damus to spend more time in the USL, Colorado Springs became the new home for the Haitian. He has not skipped a beat. During Colorado Springs seven-game win streak, Damus has scored a team-leading six goals and this is noteworthy as the next highest goal scorer for Colorado Springs has just one goal. This includes a pair of multi-goal games.

On the orange side of things is another player on loan. This is of course the newest member of OCSC- Ryan Flood. Flood is from Scottsdale, AZ with Orange County being his fifth professional club. He is currently on loan from Phoenix Rising FC for however long they see fit. Thus he made his club debut on June 1st in OC’s 3-2 victory over Detroit City. The left back comes to OC via Phoenix who got him back for a second time after a year with Finn Harps FC of the Irish First Division. Across 83 professional appearances Ryan Flood has 16 career goals and one assist with the majority of those games being played at left-back.

THE MATCHUP

The matchup between the Switchbacks and the County has been very even in the eight years of games. Coming into Saturday’s matchup Orange County has a one game advantage with eight wins, two draws and seven losses. There has been one postseason game between the two clubs. That was in the 2021 Western Conference Quarterfinals in Irvine that saw OC advance past the Switchbacks with a 1-0. That one goal was scored by Ronaldo Damus. In 2023 however Colorado Springs was able to do the double over OC including a 4-0 win the last time these two teams played in Colorado. In fact the Switchbacks were the only Western Conference team last year that Orange County did not earn a point from.