Orange County were only about 4 minutes away from truly having no chance at the postseason on Wednesday night. Then San Antonio FC forgot how to play defense and Ousmane Sylla scored one of the funniest game winning goals in recent memory.
Even with the win, OC are still limping towards the finish line and it looks as if they are going to lose one more player, as Tristan Trager had to be subbed off in the first half on Wednesday. With the incoming U17 World Cup nearing, they will also lose Pedro Guimaraes.
OC will face the toughest possible test they can when they welcome the league’s best: Louisville City.
THE OPPONENT - LOUISVILLE CITY FC
When it comes to the Eastern Conference in 2025, there are two teams who are echelons above the rest: Louisville and Charleston really ran away with the East.
To say that Louisville might be having one of the greatest regular seasons in USL history would not be an exaggeration as they come into the game with 69 points from a record of 21-6-1. For reference, the best team in the Western Conference only has 53 points.
You can make the argument that the Eastern Conference is not as strong as the West but Louisville knows how to take care of the winnable games. Louisville are winners of their last seven games and are doing so with defense: something which has not always been their philosophy. Since June 14th, Louisville have conceded two or more goals in a game just twice.
For all of Louisville’s success, there has been a bit of a dry spell regarding playoffs. Yes they are the USL’s most successful club, with two league titles, but the last of those came in 2018. Since then, they have lost two finals and gone out in the second round every other time. If there were a time for Louisville to win a third title and become the first Eastern Conference team to win the Cup since, well, Louisville did in 2018, then this would be the year to do it.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The best teams have solid veteran leadership among the roster and Louisville have a few individuals that could fit this mold. But one who has been there for those championship winning teams and has registered over 200 career appearances with the club was the one who scored the goal to clinch the Supporters’ Shield in 2025. Brian Ownby has won eight trophies with Louisville City in his time since 2017. He is a pass-first winger, one that has only logged nine appearances in 2025, but his impact for his team cannot be understated.
On the orange side of things, Ousmane Sylla was the hero on Wednesday night, getting his first goal of the season in quite the dramatic fashion. Sylla is still just 24 years old and is one of OC’s surprisingly young players with Chris Hegardt being another one. Sylla has made 20 appearances, only missing 8 games.
PREDICTED STARTING XI
No Trager and we still do not know the status of Brewitt, so we get this lineup.
Pinto is on loan and has started the majority of games he has taken part in. I omitted Nico Benalcazar, but do not be surprised if he does end up starting.
To replace Trager, I went with Dunbar.
This will also likely be the last game of the season for Pedro Guimaraes, who really had a strong 2025 campaign. Partida also returns to the starting XI.
THE MATCH UP
3 separate instances of these two clubs playing one another and 3 separate
times that Louisville has come away with a victory. Not much else needs to be
said but of note is that Louisville has scored 3 goals every single game. This
will only be the second time that Louisville plays in Orange County. For
Louisville there is nothing at all really to play for with both the Shield and
home-field advantage already clinched. Perhaps they will not field a heavy
lineup? The pressure will definitely be on Orange County this game with a
win putting them in great position going into the last week of the season. A
loss would not be the end of the world but it would lead to a situation where
they would have to rely on outside factors to qualify. The other games across
the USL this week that OC fans should keep an eye on are Colorado Springs-
Las Vegas but especially the San Antonio-Phoenix game where a draw or
Phoenix loss would be very helpful.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - @ Louisville City FC (USL Championship)
When - October 18th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - WDDLD
LOU Form - WWWWW
All-Time Series - 0-0-3 (3 Games)
TV - CBS Sports Golazo, Paramount+
playoff implications
Since OC finally snapped their lengthy winless streak, we are now able to look at every possible scenario around the league for Orange County to qualify for the postseason. As of Saturday morning, Orange County is eighth in the Western Conference with 35 points. That is one point above Colorado Springs (ninth) and one point below both Lexington and Phoenix. San Antonio is currently fifth in the West on 37 points. Only one of the five aforementioned teams will make the playoffs.