Orange County Soccer Club vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
2017 USL Regular Season (Week Nineteen)
Orange County Great Park, Irvine, CA
Saturday, July 22 – 5 PM PST
Irvine, Calif. (July 22, 2017) – Orange County SC will face off against Rio Grande Valley FC Saturday evening having just played the side Wednesday night down in Edingburg, Texas. Orange County SC took some time to prepare for the initial contest and now are priming up for the reverse fixture. Both teams will be ready after having seen what the other has to offer in the match which ended in a 1-1 draw. Orange County withstood the pressure from RGV who were pushing for the positive result at home. The weather made for a pacified contest. The game only sprung to life in fits and starts where for moments each team were aggressive in the attack. But largely the play was maintained in the midfield in an effort to control the game. Of notable significance, in the dying seconds of stoppage time RGV midfielder Jorginho James was given a straight red card and will miss the game in Orange County due to serving a suspension for the infraction. Orange County will also see Jerry Van Ewijk become eligible for a roster spot after serving a three-game suspension for an altercation in the match against Portland Timbers 2 back on July 1.
Orange County SC may not have been showing its entire hand down at Rio Grande Valley. Head Coach Logan Pause made multiple changes to the Orange County lineup, adjusting for injured and suspended players. He could have also had an eye towards this home fixture in the roster selection as players who have not seen as many minutes had the opportunity to prove themselves. Pause’s confidence in those players paid off as they fought tooth and nail to a draw in tough Texas conditions. One player not phased through the short week, lineup and formation changes has been the Orange County SC target man Wuilito Fernandes who has been involved in all of Orange County SC’s goals in the last two games. Tallying 1 goal and two assists and earning a spot on the USL team of the week bench. Fernandes has proved a handful for the RGV backline and in constantly involvement in the Orange County SC attack.
Orange County returns home in the middle of a five-game unbeaten run. The last lost stretches all the way back to June 3 against Real Monarchs SLC. To build on this stretch Orange County must continue to emphasize the determined defensive play. In the last five games Orange County has only given up one goal through the run of play. Orange County SC is proving a difficult side to breakdown down in live action. Conversely the goals have come primarily on dead ball opportunities and Orange County have yet to keep a clean sheet in the five-game run. The reverse fixture versus Rio Grande Valley FC is set for July 22 at the Orange County Great Park at 5 PM.
ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY SOCCER CLUB:
The Orange County Soccer Club is Orange County’s Professional Soccer Team. The club was one of 12 founding members of the new United Soccer League (USL) in its inaugural 2011 season. The predecessor club Orange County Blues were the 2015 Western Conference Regular Season Champions and have reached the Western Conference semifinals of the USL Playoffs in back-to-back seasons. The club’s brand-new owner, James Keston, is the Chief Investment Officer of LARO Properties, and will actively oversee all operations of the USL club in Orange County. Keston is dedicated to transforming the club into a world-class professional soccer organization that focuses on the fans, players, and youth clubs of Orange County.
For more information about Orange County Soccer Club or to purchase tickets, visit: https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/orangecountysoccer.
Contact:
Kelly Salmieri: VP, Marketing & Community Relations, kelly@https://sportsengine-staging.go-vip.net/orangecountysoccer, 805.844.0856