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USL Orange County SC

Orange County Shares Points with Tacoma in Week 12

July 7, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


Orange County SC and Pacific Division rivals Tacoma Defiance FC played to a 0-0 draw at Championship Soccer Stadium on July 6 in Irvine. OCSC extended their unbeaten run to seven games as well as its second game without leading scorer Ronaldo Damus, who is on international duty with Haiti.

This was the first home game in nearly a month after OCSC played their last three matches on the road. It also marked the first time Championship Soccer Stadium was open to full capacity after 16 months.

"It is always nice to play in front of the home fans," OCSC goalkeeper Abraham Romero said. "We have been playing a lot of games and to put on a performance back home feels great."

Chris Wehan returned to the starting lineup after not appearing in OCSC's victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Tacoma Defiance FC, who came off a weekend loss against Las Vegas Lights FC, jumped out of the gate and fed long balls towards Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez and Samuel Adeniran. Nothing came about as the OCSC defense and Romero kept Tacoma's efforts from building into dangerous opportunities.

The first breakthrough from the slow play came off a long ball that arrived at the feet of Eero Markkanen who had a chance on goal but was deflected out by Tacoma's goalkeeper Andy Thomas.

Before the end of the half, Brian Iloski was fouled just yards outside the top of the penalty box. Wehan's free-kick sailed over the bar and the teams went into halftime still looking for the first goal.

Unlike the previous half, OCSC went on the attacking front pushing the ball forward, applying pressure on the Tacoma defense. It was a response to the lackluster play from OCSC head coach Braedan Cloutier's men.

"The team knew they could do better and not be sloppy with the ball," Cloutier said. "In the second half, we needed to start on the front foot and take care of the ball. When you have a solid defense and play compactly, it will just take one or two chances to put the game away and win."

OCSC held on to the ball longer than they did in the first half, however, scoring chances were becoming difficult to execute.

In the 73', Francis Jacobs made his first appearance of the 2021 season coming in for Tommy McCabe. Jacobs, the 16-year-old OC stalwart, provided a needed jump-start to the home team.

"This was my first real game at home in this stadium," Jacobs said. "It felt great and I am hoping to build from here."

Tacoma nearly found the back of the net in the 83' thanks to a Daniel Robles volley from outside the box that began to dip before Romero pushed the ball over the crossbar. Brent Richards and Markkanen mounted one last attack, though the Tacoma defense stood tall and blocked their shots.

After a full 90', the match remained scoreless with the two squads each earning a point. OCSC goes back on the road to face Sacramento Republic FC for the first of three games in seven days.

"It is going to be physically demanding and we need to take care of our bodies and our minds," Cloutier said. "In the next weeks, people will be piling on minutes and as professionals, you always have to take advantage of the opportunities to recover."

Discipline:

Orange County SC

52' Nate Smith

65' Eero Markkanen

87' Chris Wehan

90+1' Eric Calvillo

Tacoma Defiance

41' Carlos Aguiano

88' Alec Diaz

90+3' Azriel Gonzalez

Check out the Orange County SC Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from July 7, 2021


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