As the season inches closer to its conclusion, Orange County SC sits just outside the playoff hoping that their continued streak of draws is enough to squeeze in to the race.
THE MATCH
On the road in New Mexico, Danny Stone went with a heavily offensive mindset, with both Tristain Trager and Ethan Zubak leading the line.
Orange County kicked things off on the front foot, holding possession with strong team passing and maintaining a high pace of play in New Mexico's half of the field through a high press.
Chris Hegardt made the first challenge on goal after Stephen Kelly was able to intercept a pass in the midfield and begin the counterattack. Kelly passed it into space on the left side, giving Hegardt plenty of time to make the run, find his angle in the box, and fire off a shot toward the near post. Alex Tambakis had to go to the ground to make the save and send it out for a corner.
Trager finally found his first goal of the season in the 15th minute, and it was a brilliant strike on target. Once again, Orange County caught their opponents off guard with a turnover in the midfield. Malik Pinto got the interception and quickly passed it to Hegardt. The strikers were already making their runs past New Mexico’s high defensive line, so it was easy for Hegardt to send a through ball to Trager. He faced Tambakis one-on-one and slotted the shot in the far corner of the net to open the scoreline 1-0 OCSC.
New Mexico nearly responded immediately in the 19th minute after attacking the County Boys in a similar way that they found the opening goal. The OC defense stopped the initial counterattack but was unable to clear the ball, and Mukwelle Akale got a shot off from inside the six that Colin Shutler had to block with his face.
The equalizer was eventually found, however, when Greg Hurst was left entirely open in the middle of the box. Will Seymore caught Hegardt off guard, stole the ball, and ran up the right side. He found Hurst in the center, who made an easy one-touch shot into the back of the net.
Only two minutes later, the Orange County defense was unfortunately caught by the same sequence. This time, Dayonn Harris ran the ball up the right side, took it to the line, and passed it toward the center of the box, where Hurst was open for another easy shot. In what felt like the blink of an eye, New Mexico took a 2-1 lead.
It would be a goal bonanza in the first half as the boys in orange and black responded in kind, with Trager finding his own brace. After the ball was initially cleared away from the box, Hegardt picked it up and sent it back in to the far post, where Trager could head the ball down and into the net to make it 2-2.
Four goals in one half would be enough to make any match exciting, yet the party was not over. In added time, Hegardt once again pushed the ball forward on the left side. He passed it to Kelly at the top of the box, who fired off a rocket of a shot into the top bins to give Orange County SC a 3-2 lead just before the first half ended.
Going into the second half, the hope would be that Orange County could shift to a more defensive approach to hold the lead. Unfortunately, the County Boys could not hold on for long, and in the 51st minute, New Mexico United found their second equalizer of the night.
The opponents earned a corner kick and crossed an in swinger toward the near post. Talen Maples flicked the ball backward toward Kipp Keller, who jumped and headed the ball past Shutler, making it 3-3.
Kelly almost buried another rocket after taking a shot from the top of the box in the 59th minute, but this time Tambakis was up to the task and made the save.
Although unable to hold most of the possession, Orange County was able to keep their opponents from creating any more dangerous chances. The return of Ousmane Sylla and Kevin Partida from injury was a breath of fresh air.
Sylla even had his own attempt on goal from outside the box that forced Tambakis to make a brilliant diving save, ending the contest in a draw.
OVERVIEW
Another draw means that Orange County SC has now gone nine matches without a win and two points outside the playoff line.
In OCSC’s last victory, both Kevin Partida and Tom Brewitt suffered injuries, and the team has not been the same since, especially defensively, having allowed 20 goals in the past nine matches.
Usually, getting a draw on the road against one of the top teams in the Western Conference would be a great result; however, when every point is crucial, this puts Orange County SC in a situation where they may need to win every remaining game of the season.
The boys in orange and black will have the advantage, as the last three matches of the season will all be at home, and some of the roster are finally returning to full health. Next will be a midweek match against San Antonio FC on Wednesday, October 15th at 7:00 PM PST.