USL Orange County SC

OC Draw with Phoenix Rising in First Match Back

Published on July 20, 2020 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


Over three months after the last league match, Orange County SC welcomed Phoenix Rising FC to Championship Soccer Stadium. Phoenix came in excellent form, having scored 10 goals in their opening two matches.

Orange County set up with a five-man midfield, keeping Danny Crisostomo and Aodhan Quinn holding. Phoenix looked to dominate the match, creating chances with some regularity. Fullbacks Nathan Smith and Daniel Finlayson were able to stop most of the visitors' attempts from wide positions.

It was also a busy match for the officials, who were consistently busy as a result of the physicality. Solomon Asante picked up the first booking of the match after a heavy challenge on Smith. Not long after, Forrester left his mark on the match and picked up his first booking of the season.

OC found themselves on the back foot early, but adapted and looked to frustrate the opposition by keeping men behind the ball. Far from the usual possession-based style, instead Orange County looked to launch counter attacks against the run of play. Ugo Okoli and Brian Iloski looked to latch onto the long balls and fashion themselves chances, but the Phoenix back line was able to prevent any shots on target.

Despite a few chances for Phoenix from some set pieces late on, the first half ended with both sides scoreless.

The opening of the second half featured a more confident OC side that kept possession and created chances. Still, OC were unable to break through the Phoenix back four.

Phoenix broke the deadlock in the 64th minute when Junior Flemmings scored from a header off of a Phoenix corner.

Two minutes later, OC made two changes, bringing on Darwin Jones and Kevin Coleman. The added pace created problems for the Phoenix backline as they dealt with long balls played from the OC defense.

In the 73rd minute, a long ball from Rob Kiernan found Kevin Coleman, who found some space and fired his shot low across the goal into the bottom left corner. The goal proved to be a confidence boost for OC, who continued to create chances. Jones nearly found the back of the net on 83 minutes, but Zac Lubin was able to save and preserve the scoreline.

The final minutes of the game would continue to be physical, with a succession of fouls from OC and Phoenix that killed off the momentum of the match.

In extra time, Darwin Jones caught onto a through ball behind the Phoenix defense. The winger sprinted towards the Phoenix goal before being fouled by Kontor, and the fullback was shown a straight red card.

Lubin saved the ensuing free kick, and Phoenix looked dangerous in the last two minutes of extra time, with Flemmings and Calistri both pulling their shots just wide of the far post.

"Two months ago I didn't think we would have a season," said Braeden Cloutier. "That was our first 11v11 game in two weeks... I thought we grew into the game." He continued, "I think after looking at the last few weeks, we're definitely happy to get a point, but once we look at how the game went we're disappointed not to win."

Scoring: 64': 0-1 Junior Flemmings (Rufat Dadashov) 73' 1-1 Kevin Coleman (Rob Kiernan)

Discipline: 14': Solomon Asante, Phoenix Rising FC (yellow, bad foul) 27': Harry Forrester, OCSC (yellow, bad foul) 45': Nathan Smith, OCSC (yellow, bad foul) 90': Owusu-Ansah Kontor, Phoenix Rising FC (red, DOGSO)

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 20, 2020


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