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USL Orange County SC

Orange County SC Announces Technical Team for 2023

February 16, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


Orange County SC confirms the technical staff for the 2023 USL Championship season. Under the leadership of longterm President of Soccer Operations & General Manager Oliver Wyss and Sporting Director Peter Nugent, Head Coach Richard Chaplow will begin his second full season on the sideline and two new world-class additions will join him.

2023 Orange County SC Technical Team:

Head Coach: Richard Chaplow (2nd season, 5th on coaching staff)

Richard Chaplow enters his second full season as the head coach of Orange County SC. He has now been with the Black and Orange for the last eight seasons, as a player in 2016-2018 and as a member of the technical staff for the last five. Chaplow has lifted the USL Championship final trophy as a manager in 2021 and was also the captain of the Black and Orange as a player. Prior to coming to the States, Chaplow made 312 appearances in the English Premier League, Championship and League One for Burnley, Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Preston North End, Millwall, Doncaster and Ipswich Town.

First Assistant Coach: Morten Karlsen (1st season)

Morten Karlsen joins Orange County SC for the 2023 season fresh off of his time as a member for his home country Denmark's technical staff at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In 2017, Karlsen attained his UEFA Pro Coaching License, the highest UEFA recognized coaching license a coach can have. Karlsen also has prior coaching experience as the assistant coach of AGF, the former club of fellow countrymen Daniel Pedersen and Emil Nielsen. He has also served as a head and assistant coach in the Danish Superliga at the professional and U-19 levels. Prior to his coaching career, Karlsen made over 300 appearances as a player in the Netherlands and Denmark's top divisions. Karlsen is trilingual, speaking English, Danish and Dutch.

Second Assistant Coach & IDP Manager: Paul Hardyman (3rd season)

Paul Hardyman returns for his third season with the club. Hardyman was the first Assistant Coach in the 2021 Championship season and has been instrumental in the very successful OCSC player development structure. Paul also manages the Individual Development Plans of our top young talents, which is a program that fine tunes certain aspects of their game. Prior to his time at OCSC, Hardyman has held coaching positions with Watford and Southampton. During his playing career, he made over 350 appearances for Sunderland, Bristol Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers amongst others. In 1992, Hardyman played for Sunderland in their FA Cup Final match at Wembley Stadium against Liverpool.

Goalkeepers Coach: Victor Nogueria (7th season)

The Indoor Soccer Hall of Famer Victor Nogueria returns for his seventh season with the Black and Orange as the Goalkeepers Coach. He will once again oversee the first and reserve team goalkeepers. Nogueria began his playing career with Johannesburg Rangers before being sent to Newcastle United. He then made the move to the United States where he put together a legendary career. He won the 1984 North American Soccer League title, as well as seven indoor soccer titles. He has been named MVP of both the Major Indoor Soccer League and National Indoor Soccer League, twice. He was Goalkeeper of the Year in the National Professional Soccer League seven times, including six in a row from 1996-2001. He also has 16 caps with the U.S. Men's Futsal Team where he was named the Best Goalkeeper and FIFA Futsal First-Team All-World in 1992.

Head of Performance: Scott Piri (1st season)

Scott Piri is OCSC's new Head of Performance entering the 2023 season, a wealth of knowledge and international experience. Prior to joining OCSC, Piri has been the Performance Director or Lead at: Galatasaray FC (Turkish Super Lig), Club Athletico Paranaense (Brazilian Série A), the Turkish National Team, the United States Men's National Team, New York Red Bulls, Everton FC (England), the Mexican National Team and the LA Galaxy. From 2007-2020, he also served as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Performance Lead at EXOS - Athlete's Performance in Los Angeles. During his last three years with the company, Piri was named the Performance Director of Education for EXOS Global. Piri earned his BA from California State University, Northridge.

OCSC II Head Coach: Didier Crettenand (6th season)

Didier Crettenand takes command of OCSC II for the sixth consecutive season and will continue to assist with the first team as well. OCSC II is off a 8-5-3 campaign including a 3-0-1 performance at the USL Academy League Finals that earned them the top spot in the Showcase Division. Crettenand also assists Hardyman with the execution of the IDP. Crettenand also made 90 appearances as a player with Sion of the Swiss Super League where he recorded five goals and nine assists. He also captained the Black and Orange for two seasons, tallying 16 goals and five assists in 46 appearances.

2023 Orange County SC Technical Support Staff:

Performance Consultant: Dan Guzman (2nd season)

Performance Data Analyst: Amanda Preciado (2nd season)

Team Operations Manager: Mario Lemus (4th season)

Head Youth Scout: Shawn Beyer (3rd season)

2023 Orange County SC Medical Team:

Team Doctor: Dr. David Kruse (7th season)

Team Surgeons: Dr. Kevin Pavaresh (2nd season) and Dr. Michael Shepard (2nd season)

Team Psychologist: Dr. Benjamin Strack (5th season)

Head Physical Therapist: IPO Physio/Dr. Peter Rumsford (1st season)

Head ATC: Alex Burke (1st season)

Assistant ATC: Jaclynn Koder (1st season)

Team Massage Partner: Massage Matters (3rd season)

Check out the Orange County SC Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from February 16, 2023


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