August 5th, Match #23 - Orange County SC @ San Diego Loyal SC

August 5th, Match #23 - Orange County SC @ San Diego Loyal SC

A rivalry, or derby in soccer, is best described as an intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. It is very safe to say that there is no love lost whenever Orange County plays San Diego. 


This will be the twelfth meeting all time between the two clubs dating back to the 2020 season and is a rivalry that has really seen everything: wins on the road, last-minute goals, sending offs, fisticuffs, the works. Both teams for the most part have remained competitive in many of their matchups and this meeting does not change. As it currently stands, San Diego are fourth in the Western Conference with 33 points while Orange County sit two points behind them in 6th. 


Both teams have had good months of June and both are going into Saturday’s game on three game win streaks. Likewise both teams are currently in the playoff mix. 


POST-MATCH REVIEW: THE SUMMER OF WINS

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.


July 29, Match #22 - Orange County SC vs New Mexico United

July 29, Match #22 - Orange County SC vs New Mexico United

Orange County SC are playing their best soccer since the 2021 title-winning season. That is the best way to describe what has been an outstanding Summer spent mostly away from Irvine, CA. The Boys in Orange will finally be able to play a home game which will be their first in nearly a month.

With Orange County having a good run of form it must be noted that the majority of those good results have come against teams from the Eastern Conference. While this is a positive statistic, ultimately it boils down to how well Orange County fare against their opponents from the West as ultimately that is who they are competing with for valuable playoff spots.

July 22, Match #21 - Orange County SC @ Memphis 901 FC

July 22, Match #21 - Orange County SC @ Memphis 901 FC

Orange County’s Summer away from home will continue once again as they are going to play their third straight away game and seventh of their last nine games. This three game stretch took them down to Texas and to the East Coast so it only makes sense that their final stop takes them to the South of the United States where they will make their first ever visit to Memphis. 


In the city of Memphis is that of Memphis 901 FC a team that currently sits 4th in the Eastern Conference standings but have had a rollercoaster of a season. Memphis, like most of the Eastern Conference, do not have statistics that they can boast about (only a +4 goal differential). However they are still one of the better teams in the USL this year with a top-five offense. 


For Orange County, the win on Saturday in Virginia bumped them up to a tie for eighth in the West with Phoenix and New Mexico. Saturday the 22nd is shaping up to be a massive day for all of the playoff bubble teams like Orange County with both Phoenix and New Mexico facing fellow playoff-bound teams. But for the moment, Orange County’s focus must be on Memphis. 


POST MATCH REVIEW: BOUNCED BACK ON THE ROAD

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.


July 15th, Match #20 - Orange County SC @ Loudoun United FC

July 15th, Match #20 - Orange County SC @ Loudoun United FC

After getting shutout in their last game against Rio Grande Valley, Orange County are now on the outside looking in. While last week’s game could have gone better the boys in Orange must shift their focus on another road game. This time their adventures in USL scheduling takes them to the state of Virginia to face off against Loudoun United FC.


Both teams in this matchup have to start picking up their form and play better in the second half of the season to qualify for the postseason. As it currently is, Orange County is 11th in the Western Conference and three points back of both Phoenix and New Mexico for the final two playoff spots. Loudoun on the other hand are 9th in the Eastern Conference and one point Indy for the eighth seed. Orange County actually has the better record overall but the Eastern Conference is a much weaker conference. 


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. 

OCSC Points to the Playoff: June Recap & July Preview

OCSC Points to the Playoff: June Recap & July Preview

Hey, things are looking up!

After a dismal May which saw Orange County Soccer Club pick up just 4 points across 5 games (0.8 PPG), the team rebounded in a big way in the month of June with 9 points across 4 games (2.25 PPG). Outside of a four-goal clunker in Colorado, OCSC had three clean sheets, thanks in large part to a locked-in backline and Colin “Shutout” Shutler.


Game 1 Recap: OCSC 2-0 Win vs. Rio Grande Valley FC

Game 2 Recap: OCSC 0-4 Loss @ Colorado Springs Switchbacks

Game 3 Recap: OCSC 3-0 Win @ FC Tulsa

Game 4 Recap: OCSC 1-0 Win @ Detroit City FC

July 1, Match #18 OCSC vs Monterey Bay FC

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. 


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