Orange County Return to Regular Season With Crucial 2-Game Stretch
One mid-season tournament done and with still one more left later in the Summer; Orange County will shift all of their focus to some Western Conference opponents. The next 7 games for Orange County are all against in-conference opponents six of them being teams they will face for the first time in 2026. This is all still in the midst of a heavy run of home games to begin the season and find themselves near the top of the table so this would be a great time to continue stringing together wins.
Orange County before the Open Cup defeat are still undefeated in the USL Championship and are on a two-game winning streak. It has been a pair of 1-0 wins and without any international breaks to go through, OC should have a relatively healthy side. They will have a good chance to remain undefeated when they face a New Mexico side who is still looking to ignite from what has been a poor start in both competitions. A consistent playoff team are only 1-2 in their first 3 games of the season and were embarrassed 0-4 against El Paso in the Open Cup on Wednesday night.
This will be the first meeting between Orange County and New Mexico since the postseason last year where New Mexico broke OC hearts with a goal in the final minute of the game. Historically New Mexico has gotten the better of Orange County since 2019. This would be a great chance to improve on that stat.
THE OPPONENT - NEW MEXICO UNITED
New Mexico were very much a dark horse team in the postseason in 2025 and came up one game short of the USL Final. That could have very easily been New Mexico’s last chance at it too since they saw a lot of club stalwarts depart. Club stalwarts retiring? Yes. Starting goalkeeper and centerback transferring to other USL teams? Doubly yes. This is still a well oiled machine that New Mexico has thanks in part to that of head coach Dennis Sanchez, a proven coach in the USL. But with that much change New Mexico have not been impressive to start 2026. Through five competitive games they only have won twice and one of those wins was against a lower league side in the Open Cup first round. They saw defeats to Oakland and San Antonio and against rivals El Paso in the Open Cup second round were humbled by a 0-4 loss. If there was a time to take points off of them it is now. The defense has been less than stellar having conceded goals in each game so far. They have won a game but that required 3 goals against Colorado Springs including a late game winner in the 6th minute of stoppage time.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
That late game winner against Shutler’s Switchbacks was scored by midfielder Ousman Jabang whose efforts in the last league game were good enough to earn him team of the week honors. He was one of three New Mexico players to make the first team which might be a bit misleading considering how things have gone overall. The 25-year old midfielder got his start with CF Montreal and had a one year stop with Las Vegas in 2024. He joined New Mexico last season and became the starting midfielder and has started every game in 2026 as well. His goal last Saturday is already half of what he produced last year in 22 less games. It has not been the offense that has been the issue for New Mexico but they have the capability to take over games.
On the orange side of things, Ousmane Sylla is the most dangerous offensive weapon that Orange County has to offer. When is he available. It was Sylla that had the two most dangerous opportunities against Phoenix on Wednesday night and did convert on one of them. He has the skill to cut through midfields and the 11 career goals in less than 60 games is proof of that. Sylla is more of an attacking mid as he actually has more goals in his career than assists. His early 2026 season would see some time missed due to a slight knock but Sylla looks to have returned full time which is a very good thing.
PREDICTED STARTING XI
This is a massive stretch of games for Orange County because of the amount of games against direct opponents without any outside factors at play. Orange County begins their USL Cup group on June 6th so until then it is only league games. So they will need to bank some points and they will do so by fielding a very experienced lineup.
Grayson Doody has had some appearances on the bench and had an expected return of early April so he could make his return from injury tonight. All around him are USL veterans. Alex Rando continues his streak of starting games and Nico Benalcazar will find his way into the midfield. Also Ethan Zubak is making the start up top. We are going to see younger players factor in as subs later in the match but with another game coming up Wednesday as well, I predict that this game will be the one that gets the experienced lineup.
THE MATCHUP
New Mexico has been a thorn in the side of Orange County. Since 2019 when New Mexico entered the league, the two clubs have played each other 11 times including once in the postseason. Of those 11 games, OC have only won twice. The last time Orange County won a game against NM was back in 2023. Fortunately this game is played at home and not in Albuquerque where the stats get worse for OCSC. Orange County currently find themselves second in the West and one of three remaining undefeated clubs in the same conference. New Mexico have some work to do as they find themselves second to last only ahead of Monterey Bay FC.
WHAT TO KNOW
Game - vs New Mexico United (USL Championship)
When - April 4th, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Championship Soccer Stadium
OCSC Form - LWWWD
NMU Form - LWLWL
All-Time Series - 2-4-5 (11 Games)
TV - ESPN+