You Play to Win the Game
Before the season even began, Orange County was looked at as a dark horse Western Conference contender. They had garnered a fair bit of momentum from last season that saw them make the conference semifinals. They improved on that team by bringing in a plethora of offensive depth which had been the biggest need. Orange County looked to qualify for the postseason for a club record third-consecutive season.
But nothing has come easy for Orange County who are on the outside looking in with only four weeks left in the regular season. Can Orange County blame the multiple injuries to the backline for their late season woes? Or can they blame the schedule for making them play one home game in two months? The hard ugly truth is that Orange County really is not a good team away from home that has fallen onto old habits of conceding late goals. Orange County has not played a complete team game really since the July 30 win against Phoenix. It is nearly night and day how Orange County plays at home and away. They have two road wins all season in the USL. But the Western Conference has been a gauntlet so Orange County’s fortunes could literally change with one game and Saturday the 4th may be the best opportunity for OC to pick up an elusive 3 points.
THE OPPONENT - EL PASO LOCOMOTIVE FC
Before it was mentioned that Orange County had only won two road games in the USL Championship in 2025. The last win was a 1-0 victory over Colorado Springs. But the more impressive of the two is what Orange County did to El Paso the last time these two teams met. These two clubs played in early June and at a time when El Paso was a top four team in the West. Orange County were not playing their best soccer by any stretch of the imagination at that point in the season either but they went into West Texas and walloped El Paso 3-0 with 3 first half goals. Both teams since that point have not been the most impressive. We know about OC’s issues but El Paso has not been that much better. Entering into Saturday’s game they are only 9-8-9
El Paso’s offense is the second best in the West with 42 goals scored but the defense has what has failed them letting in 38. The defense in particular has been especially leaky with 11 goals conceded just in their last six games. The away form is nothing really impressive either. El Paso got off to a very good start which has placed them 5th in the West but they will have to start doing a bit better if they want a home playoff game. To end their season they will play three straight fellow playoff teams so El Paso is definitely not guaranteed anything at this point.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The player who may have the biggest impact on the game by his play will be that of goalkeeper Jahmali Waite. Waite has made 20 appearances and let in 29 goals while making a healthy 45 saves. Only four clean sheets on the season but El Paso is not a team that OC would like to get into an offensive shootout with. Waite is in his second season with El Paso after starting his professional career with Pittsburgh. He does have playoff experience but is perhaps missing his Pittsburgh defense where he had double the number of clean sheets.
On the orange side of things is the other keeper in this game and Colin Shutler can save Orange County’s season. Colin Shutler is now one of the longer-tenured members of OC having been with the club since 2022. When Shutler first joined Orange County he was seen as a backup keeper at best. But in 2023 he took reins of the starting position when it opened up and he has not relinquished it yet. Saturday’s game will be Shutler’s 88th appearance with the club across all competitions. If Shutler can out duel Waite then OC will have him to thank for its postseason appearance.
PREDICTED STARTING XI
Same lineup on Wednesday for Orange County who in my opinion did not play all that bad between the 15th and 80th minutes. But unfortunately for Orange County their youth movement has a negative side effect in that some important players can miss games due to international callups. Both Bryce Jamison and Pedro Guimaraes are examples of those who got called up to the U20 and U17 national teams respectively. Jamison will definitely miss next week’s game against New Mexico with Pedro being a possibility to miss as well. If Orange County can score 3 goals then they should get 3 points.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs El Paso Locomotive FC (USL Championship)
When - October 4th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - LDLDL
ELP Form - WDLLL
All-Time Series - 4-4-4 (12 Matchups)
TV - ESPN+, FanDuel Sports SoCal, KCAL+