When Orange County needed a positive result in any way, shape or form that it could, they fielded a starting lineup with three players under 20-years of age. 

It was the most impressive game at this point in the season for OC, who easily dispatched Memphis with a four goal offensive outburst. The game was already won by halftime with nearly everything going the way of the Oranges. The win thrust Orange County back into the playoff picture and showed that they can win games through their offense. 

Orange County is able to win games convincingly when starting a handful of teenagers. Ashton Miles, Bryce Jamison and the first professional start for one Ben Norris all excelled in their respective third of the pitch. Tack on strikes from Owen Lambe and Christian Sorto, and Orange County snapped Memphis’s undefeated run at five games. 

Now Orange County has to improve its play away from Southern California if they are to save their season. Before Saturday’s matchup, this year Orange County has an away record of 3-2-5 which has to get better. They now will travel to the Eastern time zone and face a team that also has its troubles with games on the road. 

THE OPPONENT - TAMPA BAY ROWDIES

Like nearly every season before, Tampa Bay is one of the heavily favored teams to come from the Eastern Conference. Since their first season in the USL back in 2017 they have qualified for the postseason in all but one season. Add to that their two appearances in the USL Finals and you get a club that has nearly done everything right. Almost everything. Tampa Bay has yet to win their USL title and have failed in pretty unlucky fashion. In 2020 before hosting Phoenix Rising, the Tampa Bay squad was struck with COVID. That forced the 2020 USL Final to be canceled with no champion determined. Tampa Bay were able to return to the final the next season and stayed healthy enough to compete in it, but the County Boys spoiled the party and won their first title in club history. 

This season Tampa Bay has the roster and the coaching staff of the pedigree able to win the title. Yet it just seems that they have not been able to really play to the expectations that were set for them before the season started.

Do not get me wrong: the Rowdies are still a very solid team that has played well enough.

However there is a massive flaw: Tampa Bay does not do well when playing away from Al Lang Stadium. In nine away games for the Rowdies they are a mediocre 3-3-3 with some notable results being a 4-1 loss at Memphis, a 1-0 loss at Oakland and just two weeks ago a 2-0 loss in Loudoun. If Tampa Bay could improve their away form in the slightest way, then one could argue they should be challenging for the top of the USL with Louisville and Charleston. 

The roster is arguably one of the best in the league on paper. After last season's disappointing first round playoff exit they went out and added both Manuel Arteaga and Jordan Farr, former USL title winners. Likewise Tampa Bay gets to see the return of Leo Fernandes the 2022 MVP who missed time in 2023 due to injury. Add former OC man Daniel Crisostomo and this is a very strong lineup.

But the biggest addition for Tampa Bay was on the bench: new head coach Robbie Neilson. Neilson has seen success at clubs such as Hearts of Midlothian and Dundee United. With some experience winning silverware, Nielsen will hope to bring some to Tampa Bay. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

For the Rowdies they have always had a number of award winners. Last season they had two all-league selections in Cal Jennings, but also in midfielder Charlie Dennis. The Englishman has made only 12 appearances for Tampa Bay and is still looking to replicate his form from last year. So far, he only has one goal and one assist.

On the orange side of things we are going to be looking at the latest starter for Orange County in that of 17-year old Benjamin Norris. Norris is a Southern California native, from Poway, that has already made three appearances for OC including a start last week against Memphis. Norris is a much sought after piece in the OC ranks as he is one of the few midfielders coming into the ranks. While Orange County has a plethora of young attackers and defenders the midfield options are not as abundant but if Norris is able to step up into the role of a first-team player then he will be sure to garner serious interest.

THE MATCH UP

It is not often that Orange County and Tampa Bay face each other. Being in different conferences for the entirety of the USL this makes Saturday just the fourth all-time meeting and third regular season meeting. Of note is that of the four match ups, three will have taken place in St. Petersburg. Orange County has yet to defeat Tampa Bay in a regular season occurrence, but if they were to do so on Saturday, then it would just be the second loss at home for Tampa Bay all season. 

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - @ Tampa Bay Rowdies (USL Championship)

When - July 13th, 4:30 PM PST

Where - Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, FL)

OCSC Form - WLLWL

TBR Form - DLWWL

All-Time Matchup - 1-1-1 (3 Matches)

TV - KCAL 9, ESPN+