Orange County’s Great Tightrope Walk Above the Playoff Line
Colin Shutler defending the goal in Colorado Springs
Orange County came away with a frustrating 0-1 defeat to Western Conference leaders FC Tulsa last weekend. It was not the type of defeat to make one worry about the season but I would be lying in saying that it did not leave a good taste in my mouth.
It is obvious to everyone that the roster assembled is good enough to qualify for the postseason. The past month or so has shown that they can generate a deep playoff run and take on the best that the West has to offer. They have been just fine when facing Eastern Conference teams but can improve on that when they take on Birmingham Legion FC and get to do it at home. But there are still a lot of variables left in the season both in and out of OC’s control. Orange County have defeated the 3 top teams in the West this season, they are only in 8th place. Orange County is in 8th place yet only two points behind from being 4th in the West.
Orange County SC has played well enough to ensure that they have some breathing room but alas the West takes no prisoners and here they sit in late August only 8th. They are equally three points away from cementing their playoff spot or losing it altogether. The games in hand still favor them but the lack of 6 pointers down the stretch means they will need to get wins against teams they are not that familiar with.
THE OPPONENT - BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC
No better team to start it off with then with a team that Orange County has only met twice and has yet to even earn a point against. Birmingham Legion FC have been able to win both of the series first two matchups but coming into Saturday’s contest it will be the visitors who are more desperate for a result. It has been another disappointing season to this point for the Legion who find themselves 10th in the East. They are now in trouble of missing the postseason for consecutive seasons after being able to qualify for every year up to 2024. However the writing might be on the wall as they have already sold off some players.
What makes Birmingham lackluster is their defense which has been quite porous the past two seasons now. In 2025 they have let in 33 goals, tied for third worst in the East. The offense is league average at best but nothing has been easy to this point for a team that has only won four games all season. Yes that is 4 wins in 21 matches. Their last win dates back all the way to July 11th and before that you have to go back another month to June. They do have Ronaldo Damus still so nothing is really in doubt on offense.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ronaldo Damus’s USL tour finds another stop along the road in Alabama where he is on pace for another double digit goal season. But Damus is really the only threat going forward. His nine goals in USL play has accounted for almost 40 percent of Birmingham’s goals. For reference, OC’s leading goal scorer Ethan Zubak has scored 6 of the 28 goals for Orange County or roughly about 20 percent. I should also make mention of Legion defender Ramiz Hamouda who, along with Pedro Guimaraes, received calls to join the US-U17 national team camp in the Netherlands. A big accomplishment for both players.
On the orange side of things, we will continue on the topic of youth national teams where it was announced that three players from Orange County were called up to their respective teams. Along with the aforementioned Pedro Guimaraes going to the U-17s, Tyson Espy will also join him in that camp and Bryce Jamison earned another call up this time to the U-20s. This looks to be the most players from OC called up in one international window and should be a great standard set moving forward. Both camps will run during the first week of September in Florida and the Netherlands respectively.
DK Line up
PREDICTED STARTING XI
DK again is able to grace us with his lineup prediction and it is stated below.
A bit of a different look with the call ups and some player departures. The front four in particular took the biggest hit with Tristan Trager and Cameron Dunbar returning to the starting XI. The rest of the team looks to remain similar to what we would normally see.
THE MATCHUP
Regardless of who OC plays, if it is a home game late in the year against a team who is currently not going to qualify for the postseason they should do anything they can to win. Orange County has done very well at Championship Soccer Stadium going 6-2-1. It has gotten to a point where a draw does not help much either so Orange County must look to score first in the game which is a good sign of things to come when it does happen. Not much doubt really that Orange County should not come away with 3 points.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs Birmingham Legion FC (USL Championship)
When - August 30th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
OCSC Form - LWDWW
BIR Form - DLLDW
All-Time Series - 0-0-2 (2 Games)
TV - ESPN+, KCAL+ 9.6, Bally Sports SoCal