The defending champions OCSC crushed FC Tulsa in a home victory at the Championship soccer stadium at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California, 5-1, that included a first half hat-trick by Milan Iloski.
Irvine, CA - Going into the game both teams had a lot to prove; OCSC blew a 2-2 lead against the Oakland Roots while Tulsa was 0-4 on the road. The question was which team wanted it more?
Clearly it was OCSC from the get-go who wanted it more as they scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the match.
The first was in the 5th minute of the game as Mikko Kuningas swung a free kick cross and connected with the head of Erick “El Cubo” Torres. Cubo’s header bounced off the ground and into the top center of the net, to which Cubo celebrated with his signature robot dance.
The second goal for Orange County came minutes later from yet another assist by Kuningas. This marked the first of three goals for Iloski. His goal came from the center of the box after a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner. Iloski also used the robot celebration started by Torres after an early 2-0 lead for Orange County.
In the 15th minute of the game, Tulsa’s own central midfielder, Lebo Moloto, tried to challenge the scorecard for his team with a header after a great header thanks to the chip ball from defensive midfielder Eric Bird. The header was shot right into the arms of the Orange County goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky who had a huge string of saves for the home team.
However, not even 20 minutes into the game, Iloski had a brace after a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. Credit is due to the awareness of 31-year old veteran, Brent Richards, as he lifted his head and spotted Iloski wide open to make it a 3-0 Orange County lead. This would tie Torres and Iloski with the most goals of the season for Orange County with four-a-piece. Tulsa’s luck could not possibly get worse, right?
Wrong! In the 28th minute of the match defender, Adrian Diz Pe, was red-carded after a foul inside the penalty box leaving Tulsa down to 10 men and awarding OCSC a penalty.
Daniel Pedersen converted the penalty for Orange County with a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner, marking Pedersen’s first goal of the season and giving his team the 4-0 advantage.
In the first minute of stoppage time of the first half, Iloski completed his hat-trick. His right-footed shot from outside the box was assisted by Torres. Iloski surpassed Torres for the most club goals of the season with 5. Orange County would take their 5-0 advantage into the half.
There was not much action in the second half, with neither team creating too many chances until Tulsa clawed back a goal in the 92nd minute. Jamaica’s own forward Brian Brown, who came off the bench, scored a left-footed shot from the right side of the box to the top left corner making it impossible for Rakovsky to stop with the assist by midfielder Abuchi Obinwa.
The game finished shortly after Tulsa’s goal, as an Orange County win 5-1. This win gives Orange County momentum as they get ready for another home game at Championship Soccer Stadium against 8th seed, El Paso Locomotive of the Western Conference on Saturday May 21st 7:00 pm.