Orange County SC’s Patrick McLain easily controls the ball in their 4-0 victory over Tacoma Defiance. | Photo courtesy of Orange County SC
IRVINE, Calif. (April 10, 2019) - Just four days after getting their first win of the season, Orange County SC welcomed the Tacoma Defiance, hoping to earn another win. From the start of the match, OC had a couple of early chances to put the Defiance under pressure.
Darwin Jones caused problems for the Defiance defense all night. He seemed happy to be back on the wing, saying after the match that his “specialty going one verses one on the outside back.” His efforts paid off as he netted his fourth goal of the season in the 28th minute from an Aodhan Quinn pass.
Orange County looked comfortable on and off the ball. The team limited Tacoma to just one goal scoring chance in the first half. While possession was nearly even, it was evident that the Orange and Black were more productive.
The second half featured an offensive breakout for Orange County, scoring three goals. Leonardo doubled the OC lead in the 71st, scoring his second of the year from a knock-down header from fellow center back Walker Hume.
Michael Seaton followed up with the third to put the game out of reach. It was his second of the season, this time courtesy of a pass from youngster Vinicius. Seaton spoke to the feeling of the teams recent success “I feel like we’ve been heading in the right direction. We’ve been finding ourselves.”
But the fireworks weren’t finished: only five minutes later Vinicius scored his first OC goal, placing his shot through the keeper’s legs after a misplayed back pass.
After the game, head coach Braeden Cloutier mentioned that tonight’s game was “one of the most complete games of the past two years,” largely due to “holding Tacoma to only one chance in the first half.”
Orange County jumped into seventh place and in a playoff position for the first time in 2019. The team has the weekend off, next playing on April 20th in Oklahoma City.
Scoring:
28’: Darwin Jones (Aodhan Quinn)
71’: Leonardo (Walker Hume)
85’: Michael Seaton (Vinicius)
89’: Vinicius (Jerry van Wolfgang)
Discipline:
50’: Harry Forrester (Yellow)
Statistics:
Orange County held Tacoma to two shots total none on target.
Darwin Jones has scored three goals in his last two matches and is Orange County’s highest scoring player.