The conclusion of the 2023 USL Academy Season in early December officially spells the end of the calendar year for Orange County SC. With the senior team bowing out in the second round of the playoffs, the focus shifted to that of its academy team who were wrapping up their regular season at about the same time.
With the end of the calendar year fast approaching, all we can do as fans is build up hype for what is already looking like a thrilling 2024 season for Orange County SC
From a fan perspective, the 2023 season was as stressful as it was exciting. The season started rough; in 10 games, OCSC only won two games (one of which was the first round of the Open Cup), and everything pointed toward another disappointing year. However, the team and new head coach…
This past Saturday, Orange County SC's 2023 season ended in a heartbreaking defeat against rivals Phoenix Rising FC. In tune with the rest of the year, the boys in orange fought till the very end, losing only in overtime. Although not the end anyone wanted, in many ways, this was one of the greatest seasons of the club's career, both on and off the field.
As the wounds from defeat are still fresh in the minds of the club and fans alike, many won't be ready to thoroughly revisit the match between Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, October 28th. However, despite the unfortunate result, Orange County SC fought tooth and nail to the end in a fashion the players and fans should be proud of.
For the first time in 691 days, Orange County Soccer Club will play in a postseason game.
It is one of the most impressive single-season turnarounds that the USL has seen in recent memory. After only winning one of their first ten league games of the year, the Orange and Black have stormed through the league to clinch the number two seed in the Western Conference as well as number four overall in the USL. It truly is a testament to the work of Morten Karlsen and his technical staff for the turnaround that OCSC experienced. More often than not, the bounces on and off the field have gone in favor of Orange County and the 2023 USL playoffs are the perfect chance for OC to win another title.
Of course there are 15 other teams who have a chance at the title as well. Thus in the first round of the playoffs, Orange County will host a team that they have yet to beat this year: El Paso Locomotive FC.
On a foggy night in Monterey Bay, Orange County SC traveled up north with one more chance in the regular season to move up the table into second place. They secured just that with a 1-0 victory over Monterey Bay FC and guaranteed they will be the second seed in the playoff race that kicks off next Saturday.
Orange County SC are returning back to the playoffs after a one year hiatus for a chance at a league-tying second title. It was a jolt by Morten Karlsen that led the club on an absolute tear since the month of June that has shot the club up into the top 4 of the West. Since Summer began, Orange County has gone 14-4-2 in 20 games. It has been an Orange Summer that has rewarded the club handsomely with the transfer of Korede to Europe, multiple coach of the month honors for Karlsen, and the announcement that OC will get to play in OC for at least five more years.
With all this going on, the playoffs are just around the corner and OC are one of the contenders. But before all that they must play one more game and it will be another California derby against the newest club in the state, Monterey Bay FC. All the pressure will be on MBFC who are in desperation mode if they are to clinch a postseason spot. They are not in control of their own destiny and will ultimately have to hope both New Mexico AND Oakland lose their games. Oh and Monterey Bay must beat Orange County.
Professional soccer in the United States has a number of unique traits that are not apparent in any of the other prestigious soccer nations. Perhaps the most geographic of them is the implementation of conferences. The idea of conferences is found in all of the other American sports leagues but is also quite common in non-league soccer around the world.
What makes conferences important in American soccer is they determine who will make the playoffs. Like other professional sports leagues in America, clubs are placed into groups based on their geographic proximity and are in direct competition with the others in their group to qualify for the postseason. The USL Championship has gone through a number of different formats including a single table, multiple divisions, and now two conferences with varying numbers of teams qualifying for the postseason.
