Ed. note: This week, it was again Dylan with the statistical breakdown of the player performances. Alan helped out with his valuations of IPAs, so next time you see him… it may be wise to pick a beer from the top of the list.

It was an improved performance from Orange County, but the final touch in front of goal was never there. The scoreline seems unfair, with the second Portland goal coming in a suspiciously offside position. 

Some match stats: 

OC: 0 goals for|17 shots (four on target)|482 passes (82.4% completion)|57% possession|17 tackles (68.4% success)|11 fouls conceded (one yellow card)

T2: Two goals for|nine shots (four on target)|378 passes (75.4% completion)|43% possession|15 tackles (90.9% success)|five fouls conceded (one yellow card)

Most players hurried off the pitch, and most fans felt deflated. Everyone knew it wasn’t good enough.

5 Stars:

Blind Pig IPA by Russian River

Yes, I know the other IPAs from Russian River are the usual go to for California IPAs, but if I have a choice, I order this one. If fact, I enjoyed this one instead of Pliny the Elder when the USWNT beat Sweden to win the group. (honorable mention to Lagunitas, AleSmith, and Green Cheek).

No player was as good as Blind Pig IPA

4 Stars:

Orderville IPA by Modern Times

This one might not be on your radar for IPAs, but this offering from Modern Times is the IPA that made me love IPAs. The double dry hopped edition is fire! It’s a New England style, so if you like the less bitter options coming out, this is my jam. Yes there are better MT beers (If you find DDH Dinosaur World or Asteroid Cowboy hit me up!), but this is for four stars. (Honorable mention to Black Market and Noble. Shout out to Resilience Butte County Proud IPA).

Koji Hashimoto Match number five and his first start in quite some time. Hashimoto spent most of his time behind Trotter and Quinn in the midfield. Despite being out of his conventional position, he looked comfortable and linked up well with the others, completing 58 passes (84.5% success rate). Unfortunately, his deeper role meant that he was never in or around the box, and he didn’t really get to contribute in the final third. There were a few chances that he probably would’ve put in the net, but he was following directions and sat back. Completed a lone tackle, but conceded no fouls. It was an impressive performance given his lack of minutes this season. Mentioned the need for the team to be patient with the ball after the game.

Darwin Jones Replaced Koji Hashimoto, but played out on the right wing in his natural position. Won five duels, completed 13 passes, and created a chance. To sum up how the whole team’s season is going, he had a shot bounce off the inside of the post and out. It’s unclear if it was in, with the assistant referee admitting that he “didn’t see it happen.” Took a few minutes for his teammates to involve him in the game, but once they did it was as if he’s never missed a minute. OC’s best attacker.

3 Stars:

Sculpin by Ballast Point

This beer is just fine. Yes, I get that it is usually a higher rated beer, but I think that IPAs have moved past Sculpin, and much like Pliny might suffer from a bit of over rating from beer drinkers. It’s not even Ballast Point’s best IPA. Regular Sculpin isn’t even the best Sculpin. It’s fine though. (I’d put Stone in here too, but that is just because I’m not a huge fan).

Patrick McLain Conceded two, sure. But defending set pieces has been awful all year long, so it’s far from McLain’s fault that yet another free header found the back of the net. Crucially made three big saves, including one from an odd deflection off of Leonardo. Otherwise he was confident with the ball at his feet and spent more time on his line.

Joe Amico Stepping in for Kevin Alston as the latter recovers from his knock in Phoenix, Amico played decently, completing 48 passes (83.3% completion), making five tackles, four interceptions, and one clearance. Conceded four fouls, but none were ultimately too dangerous for Orange County. He was frustrated with his performance after the match, admitting he didn’t get as involved offensively as the team needed, only creating a singular chance. Not the sort of performance that will see him usurp Alston’s spot.

Owusu-Ansah Kontor 41 passes (80.5% success rate). One tackle. One shot on goal. Two successful crosses from seven attempts. Saturday wasn’t Kontor’s best night, but he didn’t make any egregious errors. It was a pretty quiet and tame performance from the left back, and while he didn’t go incognito, it’s easy to overlook his impact.

Leonardo One tackle, two interceptions, and six duels won, Leonardo was much improved when compared to the match against Phoenix. He was able to get forward on set pieces, completed 86.5% of his passes for 52 in total, and even had a shot on target. His big detractor: he nearly scored an own goal off of a clumsily played ball, but McLain bailed him out.

Walker Hume No big whiffs this week, he was a cooler, more collected head on Saturday. Little was really asked of him, as Foster Langsdorf didn’t threaten. 65 passes, one tackle, four clearances, and an interception. Didn’t concede any fouls. If he was asked to play a calmer, more patient game after last week, he certainly did it. Bang on average.

Liam Trotter This week he was a lot more visible and involved, completing 40 passes (90% completion) and working himself into dangerous positions. Created a chance and took a chance himself, but the shot was blocked. Didn’t make any big defensive gaffes and seemed a lot more comfortable with the slower pace. Another average performance.

Aodhan Quinn Definitely deserving of the armband, Quinn was vocal and demanded a lot of his teammates. One of the better passers on the team, he completed 80.4% attempts for 46 passes. While the rest of the team put their hands on their heads following Roy Miller’s goal, Quinn fished the ball out of the back of the net to get play restarted and just missed the net with an effort from distance just a moment later. As per usual, he was one of the best players on the pitch, but it wasn’t good enough by his standards. He politely declined to speak to the media following the match.

Vinicius On the receiving end of seemingly a third of Forrester’s passes, Vinicius played out on the right wing. Made 16 passes (62.5%), won eight duels, created two chances and registered a shot on target. Still dangerous for the opposition in possession, he made three tackles and two interceptions. Received an absolutely garbage yellow card when Aljaž Ivačič ran into his back and bobbled the ball. It was so bad even Ivačič was complaining because he wanted to play on. Vinicius was less dangerous as the night went on and was subbed off just before the hour mark.

Michael Seaton Suspension served and straight back into the starting lineup. Absolutely robbed of a one-on-one by an errant offside call early in the first half. Completed 19 passes, won nine duels, and took four shots, but none were on target. Fans and writers around the league are wondering where the magic of 2018 has gone— some of it is in Indianapolis. With little distribution, he’s rarely on the receiving end of good chances.

2 Stars:

Any IPA (for people who hate IPAs)

I had to do some research on this. I really wanted to cheat and put Goose IPA or Rebel IPA, but neither of those are from California. Instead I’ll take the easy way out. This is for all of you who dislike IPAs, whether that is when it’s hot and you don’t want something heavy or bitter or you just hate them. This is for you.

Harry Forrester Weighted countless balls to Vinicius on the right wing in the first half. Completed 74.4% of his passes (a season high) totalling 43 through 90 minutes. However, he’s still prone to holding the ball too long and giving up possession. He had two shots, one of which was blocked and one which went sky high and wide of goal. His biggest impact on the match? Letting Roy Miller run free on a corner and score the winning goal.

Jerry van Wolfgang 69’ Struggled to make an impact as the momentum changed in the later parts of the match. The winger completed nine passes, had two blocked shots, and in his best chance was flagged offside. He did well defensively, blocking two shots, but otherwise failed to provide a clinical edge for OC.

1 Star:

IPA by Coastal Fog

This one is another one I had to look up. I do enjoy me some IPAs, but I haven’t had one that I was disgusted by. I’ll take other people’s recommendations on this one. This one is rated at 2.02 out of 5 on Beer Advocate, which is saying a lot. Heck Tecate and Old Milwaukee are rated higher than that...So take that how you will.

No one was as bad as Coastal Fog’s IPA

No Rating:

Kevin Coleman The young striker finally made his first appearance for the side. Completed six passes but otherwise fell victim to the changing momentum in the match. Braeden Cloutier spoke highly of him, mentioning that he has trained hard all season and deserved a chance in a game after a particularly impressive week. Can’t say he played enough to warrant a rating, though he will probably be a part of the eighteen regularly.