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USL Orange County SC

Blues Look to Close in on Playoff Spot

September 16, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


IRVINE, Calif. The Orange County Blues return to Anteater Stadium this Saturday to take on Rio Grande Valley FC as the USL enters its penultimate round of fixtures for the 2016 regular season. With the Blues currently holding the final playoff spot, they will be looking to go one step closer to securing their place in this season's playoffs with a win against Rio Grande Valley this Saturday.

The Blues have been away from Anteater Stadium for almost a month as they took on Sacramento Republic FC and Real Monarchs SLC away from home. It was mixed fortunes for the Blues from their two games as they came up short in Sacramento but walked away with three points in Salt Lake City. Orange County pushed the current league leaders, Sacramento Republic all the way having taken the lead through a stunning free kick from Didier Crettenand. However they couldn't hold on and fell to two goals in the second period from the Republic. The Blues bounced back this past Friday night when they defeated Real Monarchs 2-0, thanks to goals from Trevin Caesar and Max Rauhofer. The win moved the Blues back into the playoff positions, one point clear of 9th place with two games to play.

The last time the Blues met Rio Grande Valley FC was back on June 26th, when Orange County travelled to South Texas. It was the Blues who came out on top that day when two penalties from Didier Crettenand was enough to give OC a 2-1 victory. Following that defeat the Toros have been on a tremendous run of form which saw them go ten games unbeaten and record an astonishing nine shutouts during their unbeaten stretch. This run of form saw the Toros rise up the table and they now currently occupy third in the Western Conference standings and have already booked their spot in the 2016 playoffs. However they will be looking to go one better and secure the Western Conference regular season title in their inaugural season in the USL, as they are just three points off Sacramento Republic FC in 1st place.

This will be RGV's second match in Southern California this week as they met L.A. Galaxy II on Wednesday night at the Stub Hub Center, Track and Field Stadium in Carson. It was Los Dos who came out on top thanks to a long range strike from Ariel Lassiter. The Toros will be looking to bounce back this Saturday evening and make sure they do not return to South Texas empty handed from their Southern California road trip.

The Blues now have their playoff destiny in their own hands, if the Blues win their two remaining fixtures of the regular season they will be guaranteed a place in the 2016 Western Conference playoffs. The Blues will return to Anteater Stadium next Saturday (September 24th) to take on Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to close out the 2016 USL regular season.

Fixture: Orange County Blues FC v Rio Grande Valley FC

Kick Off: 5:30pm PST

Venue: Anteater Stadium, Irvine

Game Link: http://bit.ly/2cUoiag

Match Hashtag: #OCvRGV

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 16, 2016


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