To Hell or High Water on Offense

The Orange County offense is averaging 1.25 goals per game in their first four games of the season. Yet they have failed to score in their last two games. This issue becomes exacerbated when the defense is conceding 2.25 goals per game. A leaky defense that has yet to hold any team scoreless to begin the year has been held up by an offense that stole the show in the first game of the year and stole a point from Lexington in game number two.

We knew before the season began what type of soccer Orange County was looking to establish under Danny Stone. Danny Stone is not a first year manager in the USL having previously coached with Phoenix Rising FC as early as last season. In what was his first full season as manager for Phoenix they got off to a pedestrian 5-6-6 start that did see him get sacked. With the small sample size of Stone’s coaching paired with the historically slow starting Orange County SC then really this should not be a surprise that OC has yet to look consistent.

They continue with league play against another team off to a slow start when they welcome California rivals Sacramento Republic FC for their first matchup of the season.

THE OPPONENT - SACRAMENTO REPUBLIC FC

It is really business as usual for the always dangerous Sacramento. However they are starting off this season under new head coach Neill Collins who does have USL experience similar to Danny Stone. The start however was not ideal as Sacramento finds themselves 1-2-1 with the defense having failed to shutout any team so far. This is not that much of a different team from the one that qualified for the postseason last year besides some additions to the backline. However it was quite the disappointing end to the season in 2024 as they crawled their way into the postseason and were bounced in the first round. Sacramento has only managed to win just once this season and that came all the way back during week 1 of the season. Their last time out saw them draw Louisville City FC at home. Both teams will be looking to have a bit more winning tendencies, something that both teams have historically been quite accustomed to.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sacramento has a very respectable core of USL veterans including the likes of Rodrigo Lopez and Jack Gurr. But one more part of that core who did not have the greatest of 2024s was that of Russell Cicerone. 2024 was the first time since 2020 that Cicerone did not hit the 15-goal mark due mainly in part to injuries severely hampering his short time on the field. But 2025 has gotten off to a good start as in four games he has already scored twice and added on an assist. The long time USL veteran has made Sacramento his fifth USL club and if he does make an appearance on Saturday then he will tie his most career appearances with one club at 69 appearances.

On the orange side of things, Ousmane Sylla was the latest midfield addition in the offseason and has quickly had to become a minutes eater. One of the few midfielders who have made an appearance in all four games this season. Last season Sylla spent the year with Houston Dynamo 2 where in 24 appearances he notched 7 goals to go along with 6 assists in what was his first year as a professional. Sylla however is one of the rare instances of Orange County signing former Power 5 conference college players not from the state of California. Sylla was a Clemson Tiger before joining Houston's system.

PREDICTED STARTING XI

We have a handful of lineup predictions for what could very well be an important match to win come later in the year. One important thing to note is that Ryan Doghman will be coming back from his red card suspension. We first look at what D.K. Jenks has to say.

We will get to see the first start of Lyam MacKinnon who goes in at left wing in D.K. 's 4-3-3 formation. As such Doghman reclaims his left back spot with the rest of formation looking the same as it did last week in Las Vegas. Likewise Dunbar will also return to the matchday 18 and will look to come off the bench later in the game.

Larry believes that there will be one massive change from last week’s lineup and that we will see the first appearance of Vuk Latinovic. Latinovic is a 25-day contract center back announced on the day before the match. Latinovic is a 27-year Serbian having last played with Sandnes Ulf in Norway. He does have a small sample of MLS experience as well.

I truly believe that Stone will need to put out his best lineup on Saturday just for momentum's sake. This means the return of Doghman to the midfield. The injury bug for OC might not be as big a factor as it was in previous weeks and so Trager and Dunbar will hopefully find their way back to the matchday 18.

THE MATCHUP

The Orange County-Sacramento matchup is the third most played matchup in OCSC history just behind Phoenix Rising and the departed LA Galaxy II. Both teams are in the bottom half of the Western Conference with Orange County finding themselves 11th. This will be the first of two games spanning across 4 days with Orange County set to enter the US Open Cup on Tuesday. Going back to the matchup, Orange County and Sacramento have both won 11 competitive games to go along with 6 draws making this a very even affair historically. Last season Sacramento were able to get the better of Orange County.

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - vs Sacramento Republic FC

When - April 12th, 7:00 PM PST

Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)

OCSC Form - LLDWL

SAC Form - DLDWL

All-Time Series - 11-6-11 (28 Matchups)

TV - ESPN+, FanDuel Sports SoCal, KCAL+

April 12th, Match #5 - Orange County SC vs Sacramento Republic FC