Can the County Boys Make Some Noise?
The good news is that Orange County’s Academy team qualified for the Academy league postseason with their dramatic 3-2 victory on Tuesday night and clinched their division. I really wish the senior team could do the same.
Orange County are really behind the 8-ball now with their 0-0 draw last week and Phoenix Rising winning their game last night in North Carolina. Orange County have now lost the luxury of scraping by with draws to make the postseason and desperately need 3 points by any means necessary. They still technically are in control of their own destiny but that might have been snuffed out with Phoenix’s win.
Last week’s 0-0 draw was good from a defensive perspective as it was the first clean sheet in 8 games but Orange County has really struggled to create a cushion with their lack of offense. In the past 6 games they have only scored two or more goals once. With a makeshift backline that is not nearly enough. Orange County needs to at minimum win two of their last four games. What OC cannot have happen is get into a scenario where they need to beat a Louisville City team that has only lost one game all season. This week’s opponent is not that much easier when they travel to 3rd in the West New Mexico.
THE OPPONENT - NEW MEXICO UNITED
Last week OC faced one side of the Derby del Camino Royale and now will face the other half this week. New Mexico has been the better of the two this season and will really hope to have a deep playoff run which has been somewhat elusive for a team who consistently makes the postseason. In the first matchup this season, New Mexico easily dispatched Orange County with a 3-0 win back in May. New Mexico has had a good season and can clinch a top four finish in the West with a win over OC and an El Paso loss/draw.
New Mexico are coming off a dramatic win over Phoenix Rising last weekend that saw them score the winning goal off a penalty kick in the 7th minute of second half stoppage time. It has been a bit of a boom or bust season for New Mexico in that they have only had 4 draws all season and they have a very average goal differential of +4. They are not a team that will necessarily blow teams out of the water but when they do get a lead they are a veteran side that knows how to hold said leads. As such they are winners in their last three games and all are by a one goal margin. Manager Dennis Sanchez is proving to be a good coach after leading Las Vegas to their conference final appearance last year and since his departure that club has returned to the cellar. It should be a deep playoff run for New Mexico as they look to get the playoff monkey off their backs.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
One of the more under the radar defenders for New Mexico is Talen Maples. Maples was the goal scorer last weekend against Phoenix and as a center back has already registered five goals this season which is more than most forwards in the league. In fact this is a defender who has netted 19 goals in his professional career and is only 26 years old. He is in his second year with New Mexico after coming over from the Houston Dynamo FC system mostly in their MLSNP team. Maples is a defender that every team wants playing for them in that they can make an impact on both sides of the ball and has tournament experience as he is a winner of the US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
On the orange side of things, OC has a plethora of young defenders in their own system but perhaps the longest tenured one is that of Ashton Miles. Ashton has been called into service a bit more this season with the injury to Tom Brewitt. The Fullerton native has now seen two consecutive seasons of 20 or more games played and for the most part has been serviceable. Ashton Miles has been with the club for about three seasons now but is still just 20-years of age. Miles is notable as someone who picked OC over the traditional collegiate route and he has been rewarded for it by getting starting XI minutes on a team that is fighting for a postseason spot.
PREDICTED STARTING XI
We do not know about the availability of the international call ups like Jamison, Guimaraes, etc. So expect to see a lineup similar to last week where the defense is makeshift and the offense just has to score. It was not the defense that was at fault last week and the offense definitely had its chances in front of net. The inability to play a complete 90 minutes has been the issue for OC all season where moments of brilliance are overshadowed by moments that are forgettable.
THE MATCHUP
It would be pretty cool if OC were to go into Isotopes Park and take all three points from the hosts. But the reality is that New Mexico has historically dominated Orange County leading the all-time series 4-3-2. Orange County has not been good on the road and New Mexico is not too shabby at home. Orange County are on an 8-game winless streak which is their worst mark since the last-place finish in 2023. What is interesting about the September skid is that they have alternated between draws and losses the entire time. If that trend were to continue then OC are going to lose on Saturday, but trends are meant to be broken. Orange County has beaten far better teams in the past so it is not out of the realm of impossibility.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - @ New Mexico United (USL Championship)
When - October 12th, 6:00 PM PST
Where - RGCU Field at Isotopes Park (Albuquerque, NM)
OCSC Form - DLDLD
NMU Form - WWWDL
All-Time Series - 2-3-4 (9 Matchups)
TV - ESPN+