Regular Season Finale With the Utmost Importance
Orange County SC in the modern era (2017-) have consistently been a competitive to dominant side in the USL. Under the ownership of James Keston, the club has qualified for the postseason in five out of nine seasons. They have made two Western Conference Finals appearances and have one USL title to show for it in 2021.
Postseason appearances are the litmus test for stability in the USL and OC are coming off two consecutive seasons of Western Conference Semifinals bow outs. But one thing that has eluded OC in all of their history (LA Blues era, modern era) is that they have never qualified for three consecutive postseasons. They will have a perfect chance to set the mark this Saturday evening where they are in a win and in situation.
Somehow and someway, Orange County SC were able to string together some quality performances toward the end of the season. With the very important draw against Louisville City, OC enters into the final matchday 8th in the West. But OC are in a very good position as they hold the tiebreakers over both Colorado Springs and Lexington. They have the edge over Colorado Springs because they swept the season series and hold the tiebreaker over Lexington because of OC’s points earned from intra-conference opponents. Who says every game does not matter?
Orange County will make the postseason with a win. They can draw the final game and make the postseason only if both San Antonio and Colorado Springs lose their game AND Lexington draws. There are other very similar scenarios regarding the teams mentioned. But to make it very simple, OC just has to match Lexington’s result and they will finish 8th at minimum. OC can even lose the game if Lexington loses as well and still make it.
But with a clever bit of scheduling and luck, Orange County are facing a team who are in nearly the exact same situation as them but in the Eastern Conference.
THE OPPONENT - INDY ELEVEN
Indy Eleven come into their final game of the season on the outside looking in. Sitting in 9th place they will be watching the Detroit and Tampa Bay game where Indy will need Tampa Bay to either draw or beat Detroit. If that were to happen then Indy can steal the final playoff spot with a win and only a win.
But talking about the Indy Eleven season will be seen as a massive disappointment if they fail to make the postseason. Indy are a club coming off consecutive playoff appearances but last year saw the club make the semi finals of the US Open Cup and were a top 4 team in the Eastern Conference as well. This was a team who was projected to finish in a similar position this season but that has been far from the case. In a way they are not that different from Orange County. For a team that brought in defensive depth in the offensive team it would be seen as a surprise that they have the worst defense in the East and second worst in the entire USL. The offense is pretty respectable but that gets nullified when they cannot keep the ball out of their own net. They did keep their season alive with a 2-1 victory over Loudoun but it could very well be too little too late.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
With the games down the backstretch for the fringe playoff teams who need all points maximum those who make the team of the week will be the ones who play in the games. Both clubs have a player that fits that mold. For Indy Eleven it is forward Bruno Rendon, the reigning USL League One Defender of the Year who has logged 25 matches played with Indy. But their win against Loudoun might have been the best of his career when he scored his first career brace scoring both goals in their 2-1 win. Perhaps even saving the season for one more week. Indy Eleven is Rendon’s first foray into the USL Championship.
On the orange side of things, Colin Shutler has once again proven why he is perhaps the biggest wildcard for OC going into the postseason. Last week he logged 8 saves across two different clean sheets to keep OC’s playoff hopes alive. Indy does not have a good defense so Colin will just need to limit the mistakes to about one goal which should be enough for his offense to realistically reach.
PREDICTED STARTING XI
Same lineup for Orange County as last games minus Trager who left in the first half due to injury. Cameron Dunbar should replace him at the left wing. Of note is that this will be the last regular season game for Bryce Jamison who will complete his loan to OC and then go to Colorado Rapids. Bryce is perhaps one of the first of the young Oranges to really make a name for themselves through the OC pipeline. He has also started to warm up later in the season so a goal on his sendoff would be icing on top.
THE MATCHUP
Like most Eastern Conference teams, this will just be the fourth game between these two clubs since the league began inter-conference play. Orange County holds a 2-1 series lead with OC also winning the only other game played in Southern California. Both teams are needing a win for certainty with Indy already knowing their fate before the game even begins. OC simply have to keep tabs on the Lexington-Oakland game for the simplest scenario. As far as seeding goes after that it all depends on how San Antonio, Colorado Springs and Phoenix do in their games. Phoenix plays at 4 pm against Pittsburgh, Colorado Springs plays Tulsa at 5 with San Antonio starting a half-hour later. Then the big one will be Lexington and Oakland beginning at the exact time that Orange County does; 7:00 pm.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs Indy Eleven (USL Championship)
When - October 25th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - LDDWD
INDY Form - WWLLW
All-Time Series - 2-0-1 (3 Games)
TV - ESPN+, FanDuel Sports SoCal, KCAL+