Pour yourself a drink.
Talk about a recap that I really did not look forward to writing. In the midst of what is still a very long winless run that has already seen Orange County SC give up 21 goals, this could be rock bottom. This is a skid that has seen OC lose games by heavy margins, so why not save what is hopefully the worst for last?
Orange County traveled nearly halfway across the country on a full week's rest and lost to Lexington SC 6-0. They conceded six goals to a team that recently lost to Jacksonville, the worst team in the league. They could not score a single goal against said team because only competent teams can score. I mean the defense has been perhaps the worst I have ever seen OC play but the offense has only scored four goals in the past six games, with one coming off a penalty kick. This is the worst OC loss since the last time they lost 6-0 in 2024 against Charleston.
The oranges are rotting, the kids are not alright and I do not think that anyone's job is safe. Name me one person that has played well this stretch. Brandon Cambridge, because he drew a penalty kick that one time? Nothing is going right at the moment with injuries at a season high and morale at an all time low. I mean it is not like OC has had bad stretches of play before. It was just last season where they, towards the end of the season, went on a nine game winless run. But during that run they actually drew teams like Charleston, El Paso and New Mexico.
What is perhaps the most disheartening thing is that this is not a younger team or one that is decimated by injuries to an extreme degree. This is literally the same exact team that was first in the West back in June. T
hey have no one to blame for this except themselves.
It is not even like the rest of the Western Conference is playing that well either, because somehow OC are still above the playoff line. I would like to think that OC, now in eighth in the West, are a better team than any of Phoenix, Oakland, Las Vegas, and Monterey Bay. But I cannot assume that is the case anymore, I have to see it in person to believe it. A lot of things went wrong on Saturday.
FIRST HALF
The lineup fielded by OCSC on Saturday definitely felt the weight of some players missing. While the midfield looked mostly normal or what we have seen before the back line consisted (from left to right) of Doghman, Espy, Brewitt and Lindsey. The forwards that took the field were loanee Sydney Wathuta and Mataeao Bunbury. This was a new pairing, but one that I did not hate when I first saw it, even if seeing Yaniv Bazini on the bench was kind of weird. It was the second straight week that Nico Benalcazar would miss out, along with Garrison Tubbs. Just to show how dire the injuries have been, the bench only consisted of five players, two of whom were academy kids.
Just to show what kind of game this would be, Efren Solis had an opportunity to play the ball out wide but whiffed, falling down in the process and gifting Lexington a counter attack the other way. Neither Brewitt nor Espy knew what to do and it led to Phillip Goodrum finally scoring against OC. 1-0.
Lexington really had their way with OC, and in the 15th minute Marcus Epps received the ball outside of the box and had the time to turn and loop his shot in at the far post. 2-0.
Next, in the 24th minute, OC again failed to defend the front post on a corner, and Goodrum headed home. 3-0.
I am really glad that OC learned their mistake about defending corner kicks from the Sacramento game.
Lexington clearly smelled blood, and in the 35th minute with Ryan Doghman was caught out of position, Lexington played through an isolated Tyson Espy and easily played a ball across the face of goal that Firmino finished. 4-0.
OC did nothing positive to note that I should write about. But they actually made a tactical sub, pulling Bunbury off for what proved to be his only mention outside of the starting XI.
SECOND HALF
The second half would pick up right where it left off: with OC getting beat by a cross. Goodrum netted his hat trick. 5-0.
OC had six defenders in the box, yet not a single one of them legitimately challenged Goodrum. Ousmane Sylla tried, but at 5’8”, that is not the man you want defending headers.
Just past the hour mark, Alex Rando then conceded another foul in the box to gift Lexington a penalty. However, in OC’s lone bright spot of the match, he saved it, keeping the deficit to a manageable five goals.
But OC decided to once again not defend on a set piece and Lexington happily improved their goal difference when Cielo Tschantret scored. 6-0.
OVERVIEW
You notice how I did not mention anything that the midfield or forwards did. Simply: you have to have done something of note to get noticed.
This was truly the most heartless performance I have ever seen as a fan of this club since 2018. When you consider the number of combined USL appearances from those that played, the lack of preparation or game plan is almost unfathomable to believe. What was the plan? Was it throwing everyone forward, losing the ball, then have your players not track back? Are we still trying to play the ball out wide to wingers that refuse to take on defenders on offense? I have given praise to the midfield this season but this was their worst showing by a country mile. The club philosophy is to develop players and prepare them for bigger and better clubs. But at what point are we actually succeeding at this. There were a handful of players that legitimately played their worst games as professionals.
I do not want to see this club fail or the players fail just so I can say see I told you so. I do not get any enjoyment out of writing these articles after shellackings. But at some point I have to call it as I see it and that is something or somebody has to change.
This is a professional soccer club that prides itself as being the highest level of professional soccer in Orange County. If you are going to call yourselves that then you have to show that you are trying to win games. It is one thing to lose games by playing the youth, but you are losing games with the roster that was created and have looked lost while doing so. I have seen managers sacked for less.
I said last game that some players are playing at this point for jobs and nothing I saw on Saturday shows they deserve it. I want them to go out and earn it and I will still support them, no matter what. So I end on this: if you are a younger player for OC, you have the talent necessary but you still need to give the most effort of anyone to play professional soccer. If you are an older player, you have to step up and take control of the team. There are a lot of USL veterans on this team and we need to see the leaders of the team show us again why you have remained in the league. You have five games remaining to salvage this season with three remaining games at home and a chance for a statement game on Saturday when you host Pittsburgh.