USL Orange County SC

USL Championship Final Preview: Everything You Need to Know When Orange County SC Visit Tampa Bay Rowdies

Published on November 24, 2021 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Orange County SC News Release


MATCH DETAILS

WHEN AND WHERE:

Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, November 28th at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL

WHERE TO WATCH:

ESPN & ESPN DEPORTES

Youtube: Live stream only available Internationally

WHERE TO LISTEN:

SiriusXM FC (Channel #157)

2021 RECORDS AND STANDINGS:

Orange County: 15-10-7 (52 points, 2nd Pacific), Tampa Bay: 23-7-2 (71 points, 1st Atlantic)

FORM GUIDE (MOST RECENT FIRST):

Orange County: WWWWW, Tampa Bay: WWWWW

MATCH PREVIEW

Western Conference Champion Orange County SC travels to Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Rowdies for the 2021 USL Championship Final on Sunday, November 28 at 5:30 PM PST at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL. The match will be televised on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and SiriusXM FC.

WINNING THE WEST

Orange County SC enters the championship match after winning the Western Conference title for the first time in club history.

Western Conference Quarterfinal | November 6

OCSC 1 - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0 FT

Summary: 31' Rob Kiernan red card, 45+1' Ronaldo Damus goal

Western Conference Semifinal | November 13

OCSC 0 (6) - Oakland Roots SC 0 (5) AET+PK

Summary: OCSC advanced 6-5 on penalties

Western Conference Final | November 20

OCSC 1 (5) - San Antonio FC 1 (3) AET+PK

Summary: 39' Ronaldo Damus goal, OCSC advanced 5-3 on penalties

THE OPPONENT

Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated FC Tulsa, Birmingham Legion FC and Louisville City FC all at home to clinch their second consecutive Eastern Conference title.

Regular Season Overview

Record: 23-7-2 (Home: 14-2-1)

Goals Scored: 65 | Goals Conceded: 27

Clean Sheets: 16

Players to Watch

Sebastian Guenzatti #13 - leading goalscorer

Evan Louro #1 - 15 clean sheets

Home Venue

Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, FL), opened in 1947

Capacity: 7,227

WEST MEETS EAST

OCSC and Tampa have never faced each other in the USL Championship. This is OCSC's first road match of the playoffs and just the second time the team travels to the East Coast this season.

2021 OCSC Away Record

8-5-3 (3-2-1 under Chaplow)

OCSC drew 0-0 with Charleston Battery in lone trip to East Coast in August

Storylines to Watch

OCSC head coach Richard Chaplow and Tampa head coach Neill Collins were teammates at Preston North End back in their playing days

First time the USL Championship Final will be held since 2019 after last season's final was cancelled

ABOUT LAST SATURDAY

OCSC and San Antonio FC drew 1-1 before their Western Conference Final was decided in a penalty shootout. OCSC won 5-3 in spot kicks and clinched their first conference title.

Three Takeaways

Forward Ronaldo Damus scored the opening goal in the first half off a long throw-in from defender Brent Richards

OCSC converted all five of their penalty kicks maintaining their perfect penalty conversion rate during the playoffs

OCSC once again broke their single-game attendance record with a crowd of 5,386 at Championship Soccer Stadium

OCSC Player Stats

Goal: Ronaldo Damus

Penalty Goals: Seth Casiple, Dillon Powers, Ben Mines, Thomas Enevoldsen, Ugo Okoli

Saves: Patrick Rakovsky (2)

OCSC Advanced Team Stats

Defense

Tackles: 32 (68.8% success rate) | Clearances: 20

SCENARIO

The 2021 USL Championship season will come to a conclusion with a champion being crowned after the completion of the match between OCSC and Tampa. The winner will be a first-time USL champion.

IF OCSC win, then the 2021 USL Championship Final trophy will be heading to Orange County. It will be OCSC's first league title in club history.

Check out the Orange County SC Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from November 24, 2021


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