Orange County SC 3-0 San Antonio FC
United Soccer League Western Conference
Championship Soccer Stadium
Saturday 14th July 2018
Kaitlin and I are on holiday! We arrived in Washington State yesterday evening, and flew to Southern California with her family this morning. With the next three days mapped out with excursions to San Diego Zoo, Disneyland and Universal Studios, today is the only chance to get to see a game while over here. As luck would have it, Orange County are playing at home this evening, only a 25 minute drive from the hotel. Let’s see what American “soccer” has to offer.
The Venue
Championship Soccer Stadium (or Championship Soccer Stadium at Orange County Great Park to give its full name) is as suggested, a soccer specific stadium located in Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The stadium was constructed as phase one of a multi-million dollar sports complex in Great Park and was officially opened in 2017.
The stadium consists of three seated stands, two running the full length of the pitch, and one behind one of the goals. The other end of the ground is used as a fan zone area, with merchandise and one of the many concession stands inside the ground. There are executive and hospitality boxes as well as premium view seats dotted around the main stand, with the seated end being designated as general admission with attractively low admission prices. The stadium has an overall capacity of 5,000, with admission prices varying depending on the location of the seats.
This stadium has been exceptionally designed, and is a wonderful example of a modern football ground. There’s plenty of clubs in Scotland and the rest of the UK who could look at this when building their own ground.
The Teams
The United Soccer League (USL) is designated as Division II in the United States soccer pyramid, although there is no promotion to Division I (Major League Soccer). There are currently 33 clubs playing in two geographic conferences, and the league will expand by five teams next season, although they will also lose FC Cincinnati, who will move to MLS as an expansion club. The teams will play a 34 game regular season before the top eight in each conference go onto the playoffs.
Orange County SC originated in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, linked to the major league women’s side of the same name and the Orange County Blues, a leading LA area youth and amateur setup. The side became known as the Orange County Blues in 2014, before the current name was adopted before the 2017 season. The club have played their entire history as a member of the USL, and were Western Conference champions in 2015. The club are officially affiliated with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC and their Argentine midfielder Nicolás Czornomaz is on loan at OC. Goalkeeper Luis Lopez also arrived from LAFC on Thursday and gows straight into the side tobight. Orange County also count loan players from three other MLS teams as a part of their ranks this season. Former Danish international Thomas Enevoldsen is currently the league’s joint top scorer.
Orange County are having a pretty good season so far, and are sitting comfortably in the Western Conference playoff positions. The currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with 30 points from their 18 games, and are in postion to make the playoffs as things stand. Their US Open Cup participation was limited to just one game, as they were defeated 4-2 by Premier Development League side Golden State Force in the second round.
San Antonio FC were formed in 2016 and are owned by the Spurs Sports and Entertainment group, also owners of NBA heavyweights the San Antonio Spurs. They are based at the 8,296 capacity Toyota Field and have been USL members since their inception. They are affiliated with MLS side New York City FC.
Their season has been up and down so far, and the team currently sit in tenth place in the Western Conference with 22 points from sixteen games. The club do have games in hand over the teams above them in the league table, and will be hopeful of an upturn in league fortunes. They enjoyed a decent run in the US Open Cup, defeating fourth tier Midland-Odessa 4-0 in round two, before knocking out fellow USL side Colorado Springs Switchbacks on penalties in round three. They cam unstuck in the fourth round, when they were beaten by MLS side (and Texas rivals) FC Dallas. The narrow 1-0 defeat was heralded as a fantastic performance by the side.
The Game
It was a fairly slow start to the game, with both sides seeming tentative and spending the first ten minutes or so feeling each other out. San Antonio had a corner cleared easily by the Orange County defence after five minutes, and three minutes later, Mark Segbers cross from the right forced San Antonio keeper Diego Restrepo into a save. Segbers was causing problems for the visitors with his pace and touch, and with fourteen minutes played he sent another dangerous ball into the box that was cut out before it could reach a team mate. San Antonio had a couple of chances of their own around the twenty minute mark. Firstly, Mikey Lopez’s free kick was cleared before it reached the head of Éver Guzmán, and three minutes later a cross from Darnell King was met by Alex Bruce, who saw his shot blocked.
Orange County began to take control of the game, and with 25 minutes played, Michael Seaton found himself in a good position inside the box. He cut the ball back to Segbers who forced Restrepo into a good save. Three minutes later Mats Bjurman floated a free kick into a dangerous area, but Walker Hume headed the ball over the bar. On the half hour mark, Aodhan Quinn shot from just outside the San Antonio area, but the ball was easily held by Restrepo. OC were ahead just two minutes later though when Quinn took advantage of some slack defending and played in Thomas Enevoldsen. The former Denmark international struck a low shot past Restrepo into the back of the net.
OC continued to push after taking the lead and with 35 minutes gone Seaton made a powerful run from the midfield and played in Enevoldsen again. The Dane’s shot was heading towards goal, but a superb block from Cyprian Hedrick kept the deficit at one. San Antonio were struggling to get their foot on the ball but did have a decent chance before halftime when King worked well down the right wing before knocking the ball inside to Guzmán. The Mexican striker hit a low, hard shot but Luis Lopez in the OC goal was equal to it. The home side very nearly doubled their lead two minutes before the break when Enevoldsen made a great run down the right hand side. His shot was blocked and heading wide when Segbers caught up with it and tried an audacious flick that Restrepo only just managed to keep out. OC went into the break well deserving of their one goal lead.
The second half started with major controversy when Seaton was released and found himself bearing down on goal. Restrepo raced out of his box to meet him but mistimed his tackle and took the striker out. It looked for all the world like the keeper would be sent off, but the referee bottled it and showed only a yellow card. The OC players were furious, and made matters worse by totally wasting the resulting free kick. OC were still the better side but seemed to take some time to settle after what they perceived to be a major injustice. Just after the hour, Seaton worked his way into the box again with a strong run, but saw his shot saved after being forced wide. From the resulting corner though, the lead was finally doubled. Walker Hume’s header was cleared off the line and it looked like San Antonio had cleared the danger. But the ball was fired back into the box and knocked in at the front post by Bjurman.
OC were good for their lead, but going two behind sparked San Antonio into life. A freekick from deep on the left was headed back across goal by Hedrick on 66 minutes, but the home side scrambled it clear. Three minutes later, Segbers broke on the counter, but after playing in Enevoldsen, the Dane fired his shot well over the bar. San Antonio continued to press without really threatening the OC goal. With 83 minutes gone, it looked like Bruce was through on goal and knocked the ball over the onrushing Lopez but before he could catch the ball to finish, the whistle had gone for offside. Five minutes later, Segbers launched another counter attack, playing in Giovanni Ramos-Godoy, but the substitute was wasteful with his effort.
As the game entered stoppage time, San Antonio launched one last attempt to salvage something from the game. They won a free kick about 45 yards from goal and Ryan Roushandel surprised everyone by taking a strike. Lopez just about managed to turn the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, Seaton headed clear. San Antonio saw another corner cleared two minutes into stoppage time to set off one of the finest counter attacking moves I’ve ever seen. Segbers picked the ball up midway inside his own half before driving forward sixty yards leaving multiple defenders in his wake. He cut the ball into the box where it was picked up by substitute Amirgy Pineda. He almost immediately squared the ball off again to Seaton who drilled the ball low into the net to add a third, very much deserved, goal. It really was one of the best counter attack goals I’ve ever witnessed in all my years watching football, and a stunning way to round of the game.
The Pies
We had been to Olive Garden for dinner before driving to Irvine, and as a result I was far too full to even attempt any food. They were selling hot dogs and burgers as well as an extensive (and expensive) drink and snack selection, including a couple of guys wandering round the stands selling popcorn and churros. It’s expensive to eat and drink at American sporting events, but the face on offer does look fairly high quality.
I’m also going to mention that this game was designated as “Gnome Night” which meant we left with one of these natty little garden gnomes. He will be gong straight onto our mantlepiece when we get home.
Admission: $18 (approx. £13.50)
Programme: Free online
Pie: Hot Dog $6 (approx £4.50), Burger $8 (approx. £6)
Bovril: Lemonade $4 (approx. £3), Large (700ml) beer $12 (approx. £9)
Attendance: 2,712
Pies on the Terraces 