FIRST HALF
Head Coach Danny Stone organized a lineup that showcased a mix of the old guard and new additions to the Orange County SC squad. Ethan Zubak and Cameron Dunbar remained up top, while newly appointed captain Tom Brewitt and Nico Benalcazar held down the back line.
One of the biggest and most welcome surprises in the lineup was seeing 16-year-old Pedro Guimaraes get a start on defense. This shows that Coach Stone is planning to continue the OCSC trend of allowing the youth to play and develop in important matches.
The first ten minutes of the match were all about patience and control. Aside from one moment of Oakland corner, Orange County dictated the pace of the match entirely. Oakland kept the home side from breaking into the final third, but thanks to players like Kyle Scott and Kevin Partida, OC retained possession and waited for the right opportunity to strike.
The strategy almost paid off in the 11th minute, as the pairing of Ryan Doghman and Guimaraes had a breakthrough on the left side. Doghman got into the box while Guimaraes cut toward the center. He received the ball and took a quick shot toward the top corner, but goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made a huge save to keep the scoreline level.
The Roots had a strong counterattack in the 14th minute, as the ball was played into Justin Rasmussen near the half. Initially, the OCSC defense was caught on its heels, but Brewitt and Benalcazar were able to recover and prevent a shot.
Orange County had their own dangerous counterattack about ten minutes later. It started with a fantastic distribution from Colin Shutler to find Chris Hegardt in the center of the pitch. Hegardt passed it to Dunbar on the right, who used his trademark ball control to juke Camden Riley before passing to Hegardt, now sprinting into the box. He took a shot that got deflected across the six, where Doghman ran in to tap it in for the opening goal of the 2025 season.
After gaining a 1-0 lead, Orange County seemed to lose some of its dominance over possession, allowing Oakland to enter the final third a few more times before the half was over. Luckily, the backline was able to shut down any attack from challenging Shutler, and the first half concluded with an OCSC advantage.
SECOND HALF
The boys in orange may have been patient in the first half, but they decided to open the floodgates as soon as the second half began.
Only two minutes in, they found their way into the final third with great teamwork between Hegardt and Guimaraes. The latter received the ball and switched the ball over to Dunbar, again on the right. Dunbar quickly cut in and delivered a perfect ball behind the Oakland back line, and Zubak connected to the header to give OC a two-goal lead.
Doghman tried to earn his brace on the play immediately following, finding space on the right side and taking it all the way into the box for a decisive strike on target. However, McIntosh was able to make the save.
While the celebration smoke still lingered over the field, Guimaraes drew a foul at the top of the box to provide OCSC with another attacking opportunity early in the second half. Benalcazar stepped up to the free kick and curved it over the wall into the near corner of the net to give Orange County a 3-0 lead.
Oakland decided to make some substitutions to try anything to get back in the game. EJ Johnson and Wolfgang Prentice stepped onto the pitch, and Johnson almost immediately received a yellow card for a tough challenge on Benalcazar.
The home side continued to push toward the goal and nearly found a fourth when Doghman crossed the ball into the box, and Dunbar leapt up for a solid header on target that McIntosh barely pushed into the crossbar.
As the game wore on, Orange County became sloppy. Both Scott and Benalcazar made unnecessary sliding tackles that earned them both yellow cards.
The opponents finally found a way through in the 71st minute, when Panos Armenakas won the ball and immediately switched it to Prentice. Prentice then sent a perfect shot into the bottom corner for the far post to make it 3-1 and give his side some hope.
After their goal, the Roots started to pick up the pace and sent waves of pressure against the OCSC defense, but they were able to hold strong to prevent too many attempts on goal.
Tristan Traeger and Ousmane Sylla made their club debuts, and they both were crucial in setting up the fourth Orange County SC goal in the first minute of stoppage time. Sylla took the ball through the center and passed it to Traeger on the right. He cut back in and seemed to look for a shot of his own but instead found Scott at the top of the box. Scott buried his first-time effort into the back of the net to make it 4-1.
The Roots got one more chance when Brewitt’s foot collided with Johnson’s in the box. Johnson went down and was awarded a penalty that Barboucarr Njie converted to make the final score 4-2.
OVERVIEW
In recent years, Orange County SC has been known throughout the league as a defensive-minded organization, but this first match of 2025 against Oakland Roots SC showed that this year will be a different story. It will be all about scoring goals and scoring them often.
The offense and midfield did a fantastic job dominating the flow of the match, while the defense shut down most of Oakland's hopes to get back into things by only allowing three shots on target all night. Discipline will be key, though, in the future to prevent unnecessary fouls that result in cards and penalties.
The scoreline was exciting and gives a lot of hope for how Danny Stone's OCSC will perform in 2025, but there is still room for growth in the squad's ability to hold control over the match for all 90 minutes and stay disciplined.
Orange County SC will be back at The Champ next Saturday, March 15th, at 7:00 PM PST, where they will face off against Lexington SC for the first time in club history.