POST-MATCH REVIEW: SIN CITY SMACKDOWN
WIth their 8th straight victory comes another reminder that Orange County SC are the team to beat. It was a relaxing win for Orange County over the last place Las Vegas Lights that came on an unusually cold desert night. It was another dominant offensive performance that saw five different goal-scorers for the Orange and Black.
September 2nd, Match #27 - Orange County SC @ Las Vegas Lights FC
POST-MATCH REVIEW: BEST IN THE LEAGUE
San Diego Loyal Deserved Better
If you follow sports with the expectation of a championship, you’re going to be disappointed almost every single season. Contrary to popular belief, sports aren’t about trophies won or merchandise bought. Sports are about the memories we make with those closest to us. 5, 10, 20 years down the road, you won’t remember all the specifics of a game, but you’ll remember the feeling you had when you got to experience something special with family and friends. When the catalyst of those memories is suddenly ripped away, it can feel like a part of you has died.
August 26th, Match #26 - Orange County SC @ Sacramento Republic FC
Orange County SC with a win on Saturday can break a club record for most consecutive wins in the regular season. Orange County SC can further solidify a guaranteed home playoff game on Saturday. Orange County SC will face off against Sacramento Republic FC, the Western Conference leaders in points and longtime USL rival.
The month of August has been the toughest stretch of the season by a wide margin with each opponent being in the top five of their respective conference (San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Charleston). The last opponent OC will face in August, Sacramento, will continue this trend as they are first in the Western Conference at 48 points. OC will enter the contest tied for third in the West with 40 points.
Orange County SC will have to go for 3 points without their leading scorer Milan Iloski. Iloski picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Charleston which resulted in a one game suspension. The forward depth, which has been good for OC this season, will have a big task at hand.
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.
August 16th, Match #24 - Orange County SC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Orange County SC are about to embark on their toughest three-game stretch of the entire season. This will see them play not only the top two teams in the Eastern Conference but also sees a trip to Sacramento to face the first place Republic one week from Saturday. With just how tight the playoff picture is for the Western Conference, there is not much room to falter. This comes even as OC have arguably been the best team in the league for the last month or so. The Black and Orange have done enough to make up for their poor start to the season and are facing the best teams at the right time.
The first of three feats of strength is that of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The current USL league leaders, the Riverhounds are on a modest three-game win streak. They will however make the cross-country trip on a short weekend to Orange County, a place they have not been to since the 2013 season.
As for OC, who are themselves undefeated in their last four, they are coming back from a much deserved one week break. It will be 10 days since Orange County last played a match which was the 3-1 victory down in San Diego.
OCSC Points to the Playoffs July Recap/August Preview
It’s official: the boys are back in town.
OCSC defied all expectations in July, earning 12 points across 5 games, good for a 2.4 PPG pace. To illustrate just how good the team has been, consider this: in the month of April, OCSC was playing at a 0.75 PPG pace, which shakes out to 26 points over a full season. Someone must’ve forgotten to tell the team that they’re supposed to be in the dog days of summer.
Game 1 Recap: OCSC 3-1 win v. Monterey Bay FC
Game 2 Recap: OCSC 0-2 loss @ Rio Grande Valley FC
Game 3 Recap: OCSC 3-1 win @ Loudon United FC
Game 4 Recap: OCSC 4-3 win @ 901 Memphis FC
Game 5 Recap: OCSC 1-0 win v. New Mexico United
After May, the team had dug themselves into a hole that was borderline too deep to crawl out of. As the calendar flipped to June, OCSC had amassed 7 losses. 10 losses would be a caution, and 15 losses would be almost a death knell in the team’s playoff hopes. So what did they do? Over the next 9 games, they went 7-0-2 and head into the month of August still having not hit the 10-loss mark. To say the team has turned things around would be an understatement. OCSC has completely changed their identity and are unrecognizable from the team that started the season.