Heartbreak and Frustration - (How the County Line Coalition Saw Things)

Heartbreak and Frustration - (How the County Line Coalition Saw Things)

With more than 5,100 fans in attendance, Orange County Soccer Club took on I-5 rival San Diego Loyal. When the final whistle sounded, many felt heartbreak as OC fell 3-2 after giving up an 85th-minute goal.

However, frustration is the word resounding among the fan base.

“We have one of the best players in the league with Milan, who may end up with the Golden Boot, but we’re in last place.  It’s frustration.” longtime County Line Coalition member, Keith Jenks said. “A strong offense can’t save an overly reckless defense.”

Right Shoe First w/ Milan Iloski pt.2

Right Shoe First w/ Milan Iloski pt.2

A year ago, Milan was mainly sitting on the bench for Real Salt Lake, not getting many minutes.

“I was thinking, ‘I want to play! I want to get minutes! I want to score goals! I want to show people my ability,’” he stated emphatically adding, “I got to get on the field, some way, and Orange County has given me that opportunity.

During the off-season, Milan found himself on trial with Major League Soccer’s Austin FC.  Older brother Brian was already signed to return for the 2022 season to Orange County.

Match Recap: Broken Ankles and a Big Win

Match Recap: Broken Ankles and a Big Win

Saturday night, the baby G’s threw a party at Dignity Health Sports Park (their Daddie’s house).  Nobody was invited, except a few girlfriends and the lads from Orange County Soccer Club. By the end of the night, the kids had been spanked and sent to bed without any dessert.

When you walk into a 27,000 seat stadium and no one is there, it becomes nothing more than a lonesome house good for shouting, “ECHO,” and little else.  It almost makes you feel bad for the home side.  However, after soundly thrashing LA Galaxy’s second team, 5-2, I doubt any Orange County Soccer followers feel all that bad.

Right Shoe First w/ Milan Iloski pt. 1

Right Shoe First w/ Milan Iloski pt. 1

It’s Fall 2003 and the Little Hulks are getting ready to take the pitch at Kit Carson Park in Escondido, Ca. Led by Eric Iloski, middle of the three Iloski brothers, The Little Hulks, in their home green kit go through their pre-game warm-ups. Younger brother, Milan, is off to the side.  He’s not allowed to play yet as he is too young for this team.  However, youth will not stop the fire that already burns.  After much insistence and “I probably just cried a lot,” he explained, he was allowed to don the smallest jersey they could find (it came down to his knees) and take the pitch.  “There are still funny photos of me around the house in that jersey,” he added with a laugh.

Playing for Pride 2022- A Recap: Part 1

Playing for Pride 2022- A Recap: Part 1

Let me just start out this blog post from Reno with the biggest little heartfelt thank you I could ever give to every one of you who listens to and reads articles from us at Orange and Black SoccerCast. Whether you were one of the participants of our new little experimental format in our playing for pride competition, or you followed along with our weekly updates, the fact stands that you helped contribute to our community. More importantly, this event helped a charity that is very near and dear to our hearts in Athlete Ally (https://www.athleteally.org). 

Flatlined

Flatlined

San Diego was coming off its largest win in franchise history, a 5-0 thrashing of Indy 11. Dare I mention Indy 11? They thrashed us, 3-1, back in April. Currently, Loyal sits 3rd in the Western Conference, a mere two points behind Colorado Springs.  Despite dropping three points, we were not outplayed in this game.  Not by any stretch of the imagination. The boys in Orange and Black went toe to toe, splitting possession 50/50 with the team led by him who shall not be named. A late 1st half penalty (the fifth conceded in as many games) gave the Torrey Green clad side the 2-1 lead they would hold on to until the final whistle.

2022 Playing for Pride Final Standings

Thanks everyone for participating in Playing for Pride this year. Below are the final standings. Our ultimate goal in Playing for Pride is to support Athlete Ally.

O&B Soccercast crew commits to matching our point total with a dollar amount.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Athlete Ally in whatever amount you can afford, whether you participated with us or not. Expect a write on the game this year from Brad later in the week.

Athlete Ally mission:

Sports remains one of the greatest socialization mechanisms in the world — it communicates values without relying on any one language, and its most successful participants are known and respected globally. And yet, an entire community of people remain systematically excluded from sport.

Athlete Ally believes that everyone should have equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports — regardless of your sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Our mission is to end the rampant homophobia and transphobia in sport and to activate the athletic community to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQI+ equality.

Match Preview: Orange County SC vs Loudon United FC

What was once a joyful and amazing dream in 2021 for Orange County SC turned into a 2022 nightmare for the current champions in the form of a variety of injuries. Before the season even started Brian Iloski, brother of Milan Iloski, has been out from injury (rumored to be some early season surgery); Danny Acosta is out for the season due to a knee injury against LAFC during the US Open Cup match; Tony Rocha has missed a huge chunk of playtime this season. Rob Kiernan’s week 9 injury has been a huge blow to the champs as the defense has suffered making Kiernan seem like the glue of the defense that kept them all in tact. Now Brent Richards is out indefinitely and fan favorite Mikko Kuningas has been sidelined due to injury which resulted in limited play time in the 3-1 loss to Louisville City. With a majority of these players primarily on the defensive side it is no wonder why the champions have struggled defensively as it seems like they have had to rotate a different formation every other week. 

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