Orange County SC

2018 US Open Cup Round 2: FC Golden State Force ready for Cinderella role after upset of Orange County SC

May 17, 2018 by Cameron Milledge

Players from FC Golden State Force celebrate a goal against the Orange County SC. Photo: Orange County SC

Orange County SC and their fans at The Championship Stadium in Irvine, Calif. were left stunned as the fourth-placed side in the Western Conference of the USL lost 4-2 to FC Golden State Force of the PDL. In the process, the home side tied a record for most losses by a professional team to an amateur side in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, with five such losses to their name.

The start of the first half was cagey for both sides as they looked to feel each other out. Then, Orange County SC began to control more possession as the half went on, but they couldn’t break down a stingy Golden State defense. Most passes went side to side and they couldn’t put any sustained pressure on the away side’s backline, but Golden State was the more effective team on offense, catching Orange County on the counter attack on a number of occasions.

The breakthrough came in the 28th minute as OCSC midfielder Christian Duke made an inch-perfect tackle and rifled a shot past Golden State keeper Jose Miranda. It was an act of individual grit, determination, and skill as he started and finished the attack.

Two minutes later, Golden State equalized with Tyler Allen slotting a cross just out of reach of Orange County keeper Andre Rawls. It was the response the away side needed.

Golden State’s defense got caught napping as the clinical Dane, Thomas Enevoldsen latched on to a through ball from midfielder Koji Hashimoto and curled a shot past Miranda to make it 2-1 OCSC.

From here, the average fan would have expected the home side to take control of the match. They didn’t.

Golden State Force had a dream start to the second half as Thomas Juel-Nielsen took down Pedro Fonseca in the box and Alisson then converted the penalty to make it 2-2 in the 49th minute and for a good stretch of the second half, it was the visitors who controlled play and sustained possession in the attacking third of the pitch.

Orange County had no response to the onslaught that faced them and they conceded the lead in the 67th minute, when Samuel Goni Vilava scored.

You will not see a prettier one-two combo tonight!

The @FCGSForce strike again and this time take a 3-2 lead over @orangecountysc!#Path2Pro | #USOC2018 pic.twitter.com/MfubmNWlIl

— USL PDL (@USLPDL) May 17, 2018

The home side tried to get back into the game but Golden State stifled them defensively and limited their chances created before Golden State put the final nail in the coffin when Jose Fonseca rounded Andre Rawls to finish off a perfectly-executed counter and make it 4-2.

Golden State head coach Jon Spencer was overjoyed after the match:

“It couldn’t feel any better, I’m proud. My guys never gave up, they were down, but never know what out means.”

When asked if he would keep the same game plan against another USL opponent in the Third Round, Spencer offered,“Someone’s got to play Cinderella.”

FC Golden State Force will host the USL’s Las Vegas Lights in the Third Round of the US Open Cup.

2017 US Open Cup Round 4: LA Galaxy’s youth movement pays off in win over Orange County SC

June 15, 2017 by Dennis Pope

Ariel Lassiter of the LA Galaxy scored a goal in a 3-1 US Open Cup win over Orange County SC (USL). Photo: LA Galaxy

Jose Villareal scored an impressive first-half goal and the Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) did the defensive dirty work necessary to move on in the 2017 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Jack McBean and Ariel Lassiter added goals, and Galaxy defenders twice cleared shots off the goal line in a 3-1 victory over Orange County SC (USL) on Wednesday, June 14, in a fourth-round game at L.A.’s StubHub Center.

“These are important games for our club, and you have to utilize your roster,” Galaxy head coach Curt Onalfo said. “Guys stepped up and we got goals out of young, attacking players.”

It was a successful US Open Cup debut for the first-year Galaxy coach, who praised the effort of his young starting lineup.

Jaime Villarreal scored a goal for the LA Galaxy in a 3-1 win over Orange County SC in the Fourth Round of the 2017 US Open Cup. Photo: LA Galaxy

“It was important for the young guys to do well tonight because it gives them confidence, and it gives the coaching staff confidence,” Onalfo said.

Nine of the 11 players on Onalfo’s lineup card previously played for the coach with L.A. Galaxy II.

“Jack (McBean) and (Ari) Lassiter getting goals, that’s big for them,” Onalfo said. “It’s good for our group.”

Jose Villareal struck a curving ball into the upper right for a goal in the 17th minute, getting a good bounce off the turf surface at the StubHub’s track and field stadium.

“It’s a thick grass field and the ball pops up so we talked about it before the game,” Onalfo said. “He got a good window, he hit it and it was a world-class goal.”

Orange County SC’s Roy Meeus got his second goal in as many US Open Cup games, equalizing on a creatively-designed corner kick to the top of the penalty area.

Meeus, who scored the only goal on Orange County’s 1-0 victory over L.A. Wolves FC (USASA) in a third-round game on May 31, used a pick from teammate to shake a defender, shoot and bury the ball past Galaxy keeper Joe Kempin.

Do yourself a favor and watch this spectacular goal by @jayy_villa. #LAvOC pic.twitter.com/ZDSyy10o6E

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 15, 2017

“We knew the talk, we knew the chatter but we try try not to read too much into it,” Orange County head coach Logan Pause said. “Our players knew it and we came in to this game prepared, understanding the stage and that the margins are smaller.” Galaxy quickly retook took the lead in the 35th minute after Jack McBean was awarded a penalty. Despite an attempt to be dissuaded by teammates from taking the kick, McBean insisted, faking out OCSC’s keeper Charles Lyon before placing it easily in the back of the net. Lassiter notched his first US Open Cup goal in the 73rd minute, cleaning up a rebound in the goal area for a 3-1 lead.

A screamer at sunset. So beautiful. #LAvOC pic.twitter.com/45U4hFVpCR — LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) June 15, 2017

Galaxy defenders cleared two shots off the goal line in the second half, first by Van Damme in the 60th minute and then by Dave Romney in the 89th.

2017 US Open Cup Round 3: Orange County SC get revenge with narrow win over Eric Wynalda’s LA Wolves

June 2, 2017 by Omar Avalos

Soccer is referred to as “the beautiful game.” It also can be as cruel as it is beautiful.

For much of the Third Round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match between the amateur side Los Angeles Wolves and the USL’s Orange County SC, the former were the better team. They held more possession, took more shots on goal, but ultimately, the finishing quality wasn’t there, and Eric Wynalda’s underdogs fell to Orange County SC, 1-0 by the slimmest of margins.

Orange County earn some revenge over the Wolves who in their first Open Cup appearance eliminated them 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw in last year’s Second Round. It was the third straight year that Orange County had been eliminated by an amateur team in the club’s opening round.

Wynalda’s men were deemed the “underdogs” but played nothing like it. It was the Wolves that put the “beautiful” in the game, particularly through their midfield in generating the attack, but their finishing was the opposite. They pressed the game, they were the protagonists, while Orange County waited and waited for a counterattack, or any kind of opportunity.

Orange County did create some dangerous, vertical through ball passes during the match, but their best chance came on a dead ball play. After being fouled just outside the box on the right side, Roy Meeus stood over the ball on a free kick in the 41st minute. Meeus stepped up and fired a low, left-footed shot that slipped through traffic in front of the goal and beat Wolves goalkeeper Lucas Nascimento to the opposite post. The goal gave the USL side the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

Orange County didn’t produce many opportunities in the second half, in contrast to multiple opportunities created by the Wolves, especially a big push for an equalizer late in the game.

After the game Coach Wynalda had some comments on the goal scoring play and the game overall, attributing the goal to bad positioning by his goalkeeper.

“It wasn’t a fitness issue, it wasn’t a talent issue. It was one play, one mistake and bad positioning. That’s what decided the game tonight,” said Wynalda.

For Eric Wynalda, these LA Wolves form a good foundation upon which to enter a next “phase,” one anticipated to be the launching of the recently announced NASL Orange County expansion project.

“This is the beginning of something. Not everybody’s gonna stay with… the next phase, but we have a really good foundation of guys that can play the game at a high level,” said Eric Wynalda after the match.

2017 US Open Cup Round 2: Orange County SC coast past FC Golden State Force to snap winless streak

May 23, 2017 by Paul Blackman

The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup can be a real surprise when it comes to upstart teams like the PDL’s FC Golden State Force but the USL’s oldest club on the West Coast, the newly labelled Orange County Soccer Club was dominant winning 5-2 in the Second Round at Citrus College in Glendora, Calif.

The win brings an end to a four-game winless streak for Orange County in the tournament. The last Open Cup win for Orange County came in 2013 when they defeated the PDL’s Ventura County Fusion in Round 2. After dropping a 2-1 decision to Chivas USA (MLS), they went on to lose three consecutive opening round games to amateur teams (Fresno Fuego, PSA Elite, LA Wolves FC).

Orange County opened the scoring with two fairly easy goals in the first 15 minutes from Victor Pineda and Monday Etim. Golden State kept fighting on and an attacking run in the 20th minute ended up on a wayward hand of an Orange County defender in the penalty area sending Mark Verso to the spot for a penalty that halved the deficit.

This was quickly voided by an Orange County attacking free kick in the 25th minute which hit a hand in the wall giving Orange County’s Dutch forward Jerry van Ewijk a converted penalty kick for the visitors to make it 3-1.

Pineda almost scored again right before the break with a 30-yard screamer that hit the center of the crossbar and bounced mere inches from being a fourth goal.

Orange County’s Cabo Verdean international Wuilito Fernandes scored an early goal 15 seconds after the second-half kickoff, and Verso responded in kind a minute later. Eventually play slowed down until a string of Orange County passes sent Etim to the right hand attacking corner flag putting in a cross that perfectly landed at the feet of Fernandes to finish the scoring for the night at the 55th minute.

The tempo of the rest of the game slowed down significantly and a lot of fouls were committed with the referee reaching for her pocket more often than would be expected for a game with a three-goal margin. It culminated in the 71st minute with a deliberate foul committed by Verso which landed him a yellow card. After the referee awarded a foul to Orange County, defender Saloman Wbias appeared to retaliate towards Verso as he was walking away from the site of the foul in the middle of the field. The referee without hesitation sent off Wbias, and despite Orange County playing the remainder of the game with 10 men, Golden State could not find another tally.

After the match Fernandes praised his teammates heart, discipline and work rate and was impressed by the creativity of their lower division opposition. Also despite Orange County Coach Logan Pause saying that early Cup games can sometimes be the hardest, that the team “came with the right mentality”.

FC Golden State Force Assistant Coach Salvador Moran was impressed with his charges especially their relentless attack while they had a man advantage towards the end. However despite having nothing to lose, he noted their professional USL opposition capitalized on their shortcomings.

Orange County will take on host LA Wolves in the Third Round, a team that knocked them out of their first cup match last year. The winner will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in Carson, Calif.