POST-MATCH REVIEW: WE CAN'T BE STOPPED
POST-MATCH REVIEW: THE EAST GOT NOTHING ON US
Orange County SC returned home for n exciting weekday matchup against the #1 team in the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. It was a tight battle between the defense, but by the time the final whistle blew, Orange County showed they could stand with the best, earning their fifth win in a row.
OCSC SD Loyal 3-1 Recap 08.05.23
If fans still needed a reason to hop back on the Orange County bandwagon, Saturday’s match against San Diego Loyal should’ve been all the reason folks needed. Unrecognizable from the team that took the pitch for the first two months of the season, OCSC stormed into hostile territory at Torero Stadium and came away with 3 points after a decisive 3-1 victory. This brought the season point total to 34, which was good enough to leapfrog San Diego on the table and into fourth place in the West. If the playoffs began after this game, OCSC would be hosting their opponent in the first round of the playoffs. What seemed like a distant dream two months earlier has now became a distinct reality.
Orange County Soccer Club is ready for another magical run.
POST-MATCH REVIEW: THE SUMMER OF WINS
Orange County SC was back on their home turf this weekend as they continued their winning streak with the defeat of New Mexico United. Since the summer began, OCSC has won seven of their last nine matches, putting them in 6th in the Western Conference.
FIRST HALF:
Back home after three weeks of away games, Orange County SC had the momentum to come out of the gate strong this Saturday. With a sold-out stadium of thousands of fans cheering on the boys in orange, it’s no surprise that they completely dominated the first half of the match.
The critical element to this came from the midfield's ability to keep an aggressive push forward by Kyle Scott and Seth Casiple, eventually leading to the first strike on goal of the game. The squad built up possession in the middle, pulling the attention away from the wings, and opened Owen Lambe on the right side. Lambe took the ball and sent a beautiful cross where Ryan Doghman found the header. Goalkeeper Alexandros Tambakis blocked it, but the setup was lovely to see so early.
POST MATCH REVIEW: A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE IN MEMPHIS
POST MATCH REVIEW: BOUNCED BACK ON THE ROAD
FIRST HALF
Loudoun United welcomed Orange County to their home field with some quick and robust pressure immediately after the first whistle blew. In only the 2nd minute of the match, a fantastic pass right into the middle of the box to Jackson Hopkins led to the first shot on goal for the game. He sent it to the bottom left post, but Colin Shutler made a diving save to keep the home team from an early lead.
The boys in orange and black also had a lot of aggressive energy on the pitch, but overcommitting on their tackles and a few poor passes allowed Loudon to completely dominate an attacking possession for the first fifteen minutes of the match. Dillon Powers may have saved the whole pace of the game early with a crucial tackle in the box after Jake Morris set himself up for a dangerous opportunity.
Thankfully that was all the time it took for the tides to change, and in the fifteenth minute, OCSC made their first critical attack. During a vital counterplay, Ryan Doghman sent a long ball over the heads of the Loudon back line right to the feet of Marc "Sparky" McNulty. Sparky controlled the ball, made a genius touch to get around the keeper, and scored with his shot into an open net giving Orange County SC an important lead.
OCSC II Throttle Ventura County Fusion U20 Team
OC II Update and Match Analysis from their 2nd Home Game
The Orange County SC II team returned back to Irvine, California for only their second home game of the USL Academy season. This one comes nearly 2 months after that win against the Phoenix Rising Academy. The USL Academy schedule itself is weird this season as it is already halfway through the year and Orange County have spent all of it away from home. This means that the second half will largely be spent at home with only two road games with one of those being only in Ventura.
OC II put on a clinic in their home match against the Fusion which will be discussed in detail momentarily. However it is best that we recap Orange County’s four game trek across Southern California and Arizona. The first stop on their endeavor took them down to San Diego to face the SD Loyal Select. Orange County ended up dropping this one 3-4 as they surrendered a goal in the 90th minute in heartbreaking fashion. Goals in that match were scored by Adrian Diaz, Phoenix Watkins, and Jason Horton. However it was not enough as they fell to them in their first road game of the year.
July 1, Match #18 OCSC vs Monterey Bay FC
After a scorching June, OCSC continued their winning ways with a dominating 3-1 win against Monterey Bay FC, a team that hasn't lost since a match in over a month.
Orange County welcomed a sellout crowd to Championship Stadium to kick off the month of July, and OCSC’s 10 year anniversary.
POST-MATCH REVIEW: EARLY ATTACKS EARN THREE POINTS
An amazing celebration of Pride Night at Championship Stadium saw Orange County SC welcome Rio Grande Valley FC Toros to their only home game of June.
FIRST HALF
Under the leadership of Morten Karlsen, Orange County SC has gradually performed stronger each week, and they looked to continue that trend against the Toros. The defensive form of the orange & black squad has been excellent in the past few games; however, they have unfortunately not had the same success with the offense. As a result, fans have been worried about this team's ability to find a solid finishing touch and were cautiously optimistic that everything would finally come together in this match.
In the 4th minute, Kyle Scott and Milan Iloski gave fans exactly what they had hoped for. After capitalizing on a mistake, Scott took a turnover at the half line and broke through the Toros' defensive line with Milan beside him for support. Scott pushed the ball forward to Milan for a 1v1 with RGV keeper Carlos Merancio where he easily found the back corner of the net, giving OCSC an incredibly early lead.