Orange County found a light at the end of the tunnel. 

It took perhaps the best game of the year from Colin Shutler and Bryce Jamison’s fourth goal for Orange County SC to snap their six game winless streak. Yes, it took Shutler making numerous saves. However, Orange County looked like a competent team and were deserving of three points for the first time in nearly two months.

The win gave means that OC control their own playoff destiny again. For the time being, they are no longer in need of other results to go their way. They are also now even with games played with the rest of their direct competition. With seven games remaining in the season, they are the current eighth seed in the West.

Every game from this point forward only gets more and more important. Saturday, Orange County can begin to put away the rest of the competition as they travel up the California coast to take on Monterey Bay FC.

THE OPPONENT - MONTEREY BAY FC

The last time that OC and Monterey Bay played was all the way back in late April. At that time, Monterey was second in the league and Frank Yallop was still the head coach. Things are a bit different now: MBFC are now second to last in the west, and Yallop is gone. Not scoring a single goal in 362 straight minutes will do that to a team… just look at Orange County SC. 

Monterey Bay FC are in a terrible run of form right now, having lost their last nine games. Their last win came all the way back on July 6th. Trying to right the sinking ship is now the responsibility of Jordan Stewart, a former player in his own right, who spent time with Leicester City and Bristol Rovers, and the San Jose Earthquakes. Now Monterey Bay are only two points behind the three-headed stuffed animal of OCSC, Tulsa and San Antonio, but they cannot let that gap get any wider if they are to make the playoffs.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Tristan Trager was the player from MBFC that we covered in the first match up, and it was he who had the blistering hot start. He had scored four goals through his first eight games and led the way for Monterey Bay. Since that April 27th game, Trager has only netted four more goals.

This leads to the true leader of this team, the man in between the posts:

Antony Siaha is a very good USL goalkeeper on a very bad USL team. Siaha leads the league in saves with 102 in 25 games. Averaging about four saves per game, he is really one of the only reasons that Monterey Bay has a fighting chance to make the postseason. 

On the orange side of things we are going to be looking at the newest member to the senior team. Pedro Guimaraes is a 16-year old defender. He made his first professional start last weekend against Rhode Island, but the youngster has been on the radar of the US National teams, having made multiple appearances with a number of the youth teams. Guimaraes has the chance to be the next defensive prospect, following the likes of Kobi Henry and Ashton Miles. 

THE MATCH UP

It will sound a bit harsh, but Orange County need to beat Monterey Bay on Saturday. A draw does not do them any good, and they need to carry momentum into the playoffs. OC have gotten the better of MBFC in recent memory, having won the last three games against them and only conceding once during that stretch.

WHAT TO KNOW

Game - @ Monterey Bay FC (USL Championship)
When - September 21, 7:00 PM PST
Where - Cardinale Stadium (Seaside, CA)
OCSC Form - WLLLD
MBFC Form - DLLDL
All-Time Matchup - 3-2-0 (5 Matchups)
TV - ESPN+