May 27th, Match #13 - Orange County SC @ Miami FC
Certain games throughout the season can serve as good reminders about the states of clubs. This will be interim-head coach Morten Karlsen’s fifth game at the helm and will be a good indication just how much OC have improved or remained the same.
This will be only Orange County’s second trip East of the Mississippi this season. In fact it will be OC’s first time ever playing in the city of Miami, Florida. In the meantime the Boys in Orange are coming off a disappointing home defeat to Phoenix in a match that they really should have gotten at least a point from. After that, OC currently stands at 11th in the West on 9 points.
May 17th, Match #11 - Orange County SC vs Sacramento Republic FC
It has officially been 10 games for Orange County in league play and in all honesty it has been an abysmal 10 games. After getting shutout 0-3 in Oakland on Saturday, the Oranges return back to Irvine for a midweek matchup. With the setup of USL, the top eight teams of each conference qualify for the playoffs out of a total 12. In 10 games, OCSC have played only 3 teams who are currently out of a playoff spot. Does that mean OC will play an opponent that is level in quality this time? No.
May 13th, Match #10 - Orange County SC @ Oakland Roots SC
One positive thing about Orange County, they have had a consistent offense that through nine league games have only been shut out just once. The negative that comes with that staff is the fact that they have only won once.
While the offense is serviceable, the defense has been less than optimal. OCSC have allowed 15 goals which is the worst in the Western Conference and third worst in the USL. It also does not help that this is officially Orange County’s worst start through nine league games as they are only at 6 points.
May 6th, Match #9 - Orange County SC vs San Diego Loyal SC
For Orange County, Saturday May 6th could be a very important day.
First, it will be the inaugural game under interim-head coach Morten Karlsen who was announced as new manager on May 1 following the dismissal of Richard Chaplow. That in itself is enough to make Saturday a big day but the fact that it will be against San Diego just makes the game much more important.
The OC-SD rivalry has been quite an even series with both teams having won away games and seen high-profile players don both kits. While only 79 miles separate the two clubs, the standings tell a different story. Through 8 league games played, Orange County currently sit in 11th with 6 points, 2 points behind the playoff. San Diego are sitting in 3rd with 14 points.
April 29th, Match #8 - Orange County SC @ New Mexico United
With OC bumped from the Open Cup, all of their attention now shifts to the league.
Through seven league games, Orange County have only played a fellow Western Conference opponent in only two of those games. The start of the season has seen new matchups along with sophomore showdowns but now OC will set to duel with a more familiar Western Conference opponent, New Mexico United.
Orange County so far into league play currently sit in 9th on 6 points which is one short of the playoff line while their counterparts New Mexico sit further back at 11th on 4 points.
April 26th, USOC Round 3 - Orange County SC @ Portland Timbers
With the third round of the US Open Cup comes the appearance for a number of MLS teams, and Orange County gets to face one.
As part of the “Pacific” group, OC was placed in the same pool as Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC, and San Diego Loyal SC and ultimately drew with the Timbers as the visiting team. While not the hardest possible draw, it will still take a complete team effort in order to pull off the upset.
April 22nd, Match #7 - Orange County SC vs Birmingham Legion FC
Orange County will look to continue on last week’s first win of the 2023 USL Championship season.
It took OC six games to earn their first victory, and the team now set their sights on another visiting Eastern Conference club, Birmingham Legion FC. This game will be the first ever meeting between Orange County and Birmingham, with the visitors coming in currently sitting third in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile OC sit in 9th just one point back of the playoff line.
April 15th, Match #6 - Orange County SC vs Indy Eleven
Orange County return home for matchday 6, and will host the Indy Eleven in an inter-conference bout.
It has not been the start that either team had hoped for to their 2023 seasons. For the Boys in Orange, this Saturday will serve as another opportunity to pick up their first victory. For Indy, they will look to get back in the win column after an equally lackluster start. As it stands, Orange County are currently 0-3-2 and sit at 11th in the Western Conference. It may be a long season, but points become much more valuable as the season goes.
April 5th, USOC 2nd Round - Orange County SC vs Capo FC
The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is here and Orange County are set to enter into the second round of the annual tournament.
In normal fashion, all USL Championship independent sides enter into the competition at the second round and match up often against local lower league sides. Overall Orange County has had very little success in this competition. Their best run to date came in 2017 when they reached the fourth round of competition before bowing out to the LA Galaxy.