Missed Chances and Costly Calls Haunt Orange County SC in 3-1 Defeat
USL Orange County SC

Missed Chances and Costly Calls Haunt Orange County SC in 3-1 Defeat

Published on September 20, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


Orange County SC traveled to San Antonio for a heated clash, literally and figuratively, with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees at kickoff. From the opening whistle, it was clear this would be a physical battle. Just two minutes in, San Antonio captain Mitch Taintor clattered into Bryce Jamison, setting the tone for a bruising first half. The resulting free kick gave OCSC an early look at goal, a sign that they would be able to test veteran goalkeeper Richard Sánchez on set pieces throughout the night.

Orange County quickly settled into their rhythm, building out of the back. In the 6th minute, Pedro Guimarães slipped a perfectly weighted through ball to Ethan Zubak, only for the flag to go up for offside. At the other end, OCSC goalkeeper Tetsuya Kadono was called into action in the 10th minute, getting down sharply to deny Nicky Hernandez's low drive.

The visitors continued to push forward with confidence. Cameron Dunbar nearly broke the deadlock in the 17th minute, unleashing a thunderous shot that forced Sánchez into a diving save and earned OCSC a corner. But San Antonio reminded everyone of their danger in transition in the 25th minute, when Taintor, still pushing forward from the back, let fly from distance and rattled the right post.

Despite that warning shot, Orange County's shape and discipline frustrated the hosts, who struggled to generate their trademark counterattacks. OCSC's pressing game forced mistakes and kept San Antonio pinned in for stretches. Yet, against the run of play in the 30th minute, Diogo Pacheco found space on the counter, his low strike caroming off the left post and across the line to give SAFC a 1-0 lead.

Orange County wasted no time responding. Just moments later, Dunbar surged into the box and looked poised to equalize before Taintor,al ready on a warning, took him down with a reckless challenge. To the disbelief of the OCSC bench, no foul was called. Minutes later, Zubak had another chance to level the score, only to be flagged offside by the narrowest of margins in the 35th minute.

As frustrations mounted, San Antonio leaned heavily on physicality to disrupt Orange County's flow. By halftime, Chris Hegardt alone had been fouled four times, and SAFC racked up 12 infractions in the opening 45 minutes.

The second half opened with San Antonio FC flying out of the gates, eager to put the game out of reach. Just two minutes after the restart, a perfectly threaded through ball and Jorge Hernandez slotted the ball home in the 47th minute to double the hosts' advantage.

But OCSC refused to fold. In the 54th minute, center back Nico Benalcázar stepped up in spectacular fashion, unleashing a thunderbolt from distance that soared past a diving Richard Sánchez and into the back of the net to cut the deficit in half. Suddenly, the game was alive again.

Orange County nearly found the equalizer just two minutes later. A beautifully delivered corner from Pedro Guimarães picked out Ashton Miles, whose towering header looked destined for the net, only for Sánchez grab it with a reflex save. Then in the 58th minute, controversy struck once again, when Chris Hegardt was foulded inside the box, but the referee waved play on, denying OCSC what looked like a clear penalty.

San Antonio made Orange County pay for those missed chances. In the 66th minute, Jorge Hernandez stepped up over a free kick just outside the penalty area and curled a sensational strike into the top left corner, restoring SAFC's two-goal cushion at 3-1.

Chasing the game, Orange County manager made attacking substitutions in search of a spark. Yet frustration continued to mount. Despite the foul count leaning heavily in against San Antonio 17 to just 5 for OC, iit was Guimarães who was shown the first yellow card of the night.

Orange County pressed relentlessly in the closing stages, piling on pressure and creating waves of chances. With nine minutes of stoppage time added, OCSC threw everything forward, launching shot after shot at the San Antonio goal. But luck wasn't on the side of the black and orange. To compound matters, Hegardt, who had been hacked down six times throughout the match without drawing a single card, was shown a yellow himself for a soft foul in the 90+8'.

San Antonio, content to protect their lead, slowed the game to a crawl and wasted precious seconds until the final whistle. The night ended in frustration for Orange County, who left Toyota Field knowing they had created enough opportunities to take points home from San Antonio.

Orange County returns to Championship Stadium on September 27th for a Back to School Night Match against Charleston Battery.

Milestones:

N/A

TEAM FIRST HALF SECOND HALF FULL TIME

OCSC 0 1 1

SA 1 2 3

SCORING SUMMARY:

30' Diogo Pacheco (SA) - Assist Jorge Hernandez

47' Jorge Hernandez (SA) - Santiago Patino

54' Nico Benalcazar (OC) - Assist Bryce Jamison

66' Jorge Hernandez (SA)

DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:

ORANGE COUNTY SC

76' Pedro Guimaraes

90+8' Chris Hegardt

SAN ANTONIO SC

N/A (First game this season, in all competitions without a card)

ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP: (4-4-2)

Tetsuya Kadono (GK); Nicholas Benalcazar, Ashton Miles (67' Tristan Trager), Vuk Latinovich, Ryan Doghman [C], Stephen Kelly, Bryce Jamison (67' Mouhamadou War), Pedro Guimaraes (83' Roberto Molina), Ethan Zubak, Cameron Dunbar (72' Malik Pinto), Chris Hegardt

Unused subs: Fernando Augirre(GK); Cheick Koné, Tyson Espy, Apollo Marinch, Gavin Karam

Head Coach: Danny Stone

Possession: 54% | Shots: 18 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corners: 7 | Fouls: 10 | Offsides: 2 |

SAN ANTONIO SC: (4-2-3-1)

Richard Sanchez (GK); Reece Buckmaster (77' Harvey Neville), Alexis Souahy, Mitchell Taintor, Nelson Blanco, Mohamed Omar (84' Landry Walker), Almir Soto, Diogo Pacheco (77' Abdi Salim), Nicky Hernandez (77'Kyle Linhares), Jorge Hernandez, Santiago Patino

Unused subs: Daniel Namani (GK); Jacob Greene, Daniel Barbir, Edrey Caceres

Head Coach: Carlos Llamosa

Possession: 46% | Shots: 15 | Shots On Goal: 7 | Corners: 5 | Fouls: 20 | Offsides: 1 |

Orange County SC v. San Antonio SC

2025 USL Championship | Matchday 23

Date: September 20, 2025

Venue: Toyota Field, TX

Check out the Orange County SC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 20, 2025


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