When we talk about cinema you will notice the plot diagram of most movies. Every movie you have seen will begin with an exposition where we meet all of our main characters and learn about them. We then watch these characters face a conflict that results in them fighting hard for it in the rising action of the regular season. Most realistic movies will have a climax where the story comes to a head and oftentimes we see our main characters have to make tough decisions that may or may work in their favor. This is then followed by the falling action which ultimately looks to wrap up some loose ends and perhaps set up plot points for future sequels.
Orange County find themselves definitely in the falling action of this screenplay. They are hopefully at the end of their truly awful run of form in August and have now earned points in consecutive games. If Orange County can continue to be a point per game team, then they will make the postseason. But they really did not have to make it this hard on themselves. This was a team that had made a name for itself as one that was incredibly hard to beat, with opposing teams often getting lucky just to earn a draw. But since Orange County has faltered it is now them who have had trouble winning games. It was no different on Saturday either as OC conceded late to split the points with Sacramento.
I mentioned in the last recap the recipe that OC should follow to win games and they got all the way until the last step. The underlying numbers behind Orange County’s play in recent weeks has not been impressive but one could argue that it never was to start with even when they were taking all 3 points in games. In the stretch of games the one thing that has remained consistent is the offense will always find a way to score at least one goal. They are now on a four game goal scoring streak. The defense which was under a heavy microscope has quietly played better as well. When you consider the past two goals conceded were from a goalkeeper mistake and a set piece then you should be okay with it.
But all of us are hoping that this pair of 1-1 draws against teams lower in the table will not come back to bite Orange County later on when it comes to a home playoff game; or perhaps the postseason altogether. They have 7 games remaining against all teams bad, average and good to determine their fate.
FIRST HALF
Danny Stone was not messing around with the lineup one bit. Jaylin Lindsey earned his first start with Orange County at right back. Everyone else in the lineup is about what we have grown to expect. Nico Benalcazar returned to the defensive midfield where we hopefully will see him remain. Once again Orange County has been bitten by the injury bug and at this point in the season I am tired of speculating the return of players. I know it is club policy to not disclose anything injury related but I would love to know why that is the case and why OC have 9 players out for injury.
It was a very mundane first half all things considered. Lyam MacKinnon had the first great chance when a Hegardt through ball found MacKinnon one on one. Unfortunately, the forward’s shot was woefully underpowered and ended up easily saved by the Sacramento keeper.
This was a good half for Orange County because they really limited the number of chances in front of Alex Rando. After seeing multiple games where OC were either losing at the break or getting shelled in the first half, you will take a boring 0-0 game going into halftime.
SECOND HALF
It definitely took a half of soccer for both teams to really get into the match. The second half saw both sides bring up the intensity and the first very good save of the night belonged to Alex Rando. In the 53rd minute, Rando made a nice fingertip save on a bouncing ball to his far post before it was cleared away from danger. Alex Rando is a shot stopping goal keeper, so when you do not force him to venture out of the box too much, he will make some highlight saves. This was one of them.
It had to have doubly amazing when on the following sequence of play going back the other way it was Ryan Doghman that fizzed a low cross right to the middle of the box that Chris Hegardt fired into the net. That opener marked Hegardt’s third goal of the season and gave OC the all important first goal of the match. This was only the first time in five previous games where OC scored first.
OC all season long have adopted the defensive first mentality when leading games late. So of course why change things now. Sacramento were allowed to virtually hold the ball for long swaths of time in the offensive with plenty of corner kicks and last ditch defensive clearances. Not only does this allow teams to really create momentum on offense but it also puts your defenders and goalkeeper into very dangerous situations. A perfect example of this came in the 80th minute where Rando saved a ball with his face, get run over and then save the resulting ball as well. Rando has now saved a few amazing opportunities in what looked to be a great bounce back game for him.
Unfortunately it would only be a good game for him.
All of the defensive pressure soaked in proved too much to handle, and on a corner kick in the 83rd minute Sacramento would get the equalizer. It is one thing to concede an equalizer late in games, but it is doubly frustrating when the goal is scored right after you make numerous defensive substitutions. OC when defending corner kicks have not been terrible this season, but they are a team that does not put defenders on either post. This was exploited, as the corner was driven past the first defender and immediately bundled in at the front post past Rando, who never saw it coming.
At 1-1, Orange County seemed resigned to the fact that they would not score anymore. So OC would just ride out the last 10 minutes or so and the match would end 1-1 increasing OC’s winless streak and tying a season high at 5 games.
OVERVIEW
Step one to winning games is to not give up anything stupid in the first 20 minutes of the match; this was successful. Next you have to score a goal at some point and the OC midfield does that somewhat good so this step also gets completed. The last and perhaps most important step is to not give up any goals within the last 15 minutes of the game; a task that was failed. I do not know if either team can be that happy with the result. Both teams desperately needed a win.
Considering just how difficult some opponents are that remain too then OC especially should feel like they could have done a bit more. They know this too, but at what point does the question about what this team really wants to be come up? Is Orange County a team that is only alive just to be a glorified academy? I have said in the past that this is a stable club philosophy to have in the modern soccer world and when it does produce it is a very fun thing to watch. We cannot blame injuries at this point with your main core of players all being somewhat healthy. Orange County, after not winning for over a month, are somehow still third in the West. It makes you wonder just how bad to average the rest of the conference is.
But OC has enough veteran presence to be a competitive team. Of the starting XI from Saturday, only three starters are in their first year with the club. This is not a new team by any stretch. We have yet to see them at their best and unfortunately the question now becomes not a matter of when we see them at their fullest potential but if. But one thing that I am not afraid to say is that the game next Saturday is now a must win game. Orange County SC are 4-4-3 at home this season but overall are 77-38-46 at Championship Soccer Stadium. They are also playing a struggling Las Vegas team that OC have had a good deal of success against historically. You only have a handful of remaining games in 2026 where you are the favorites in and now have to really capitalize on them.