Orange County SC earned their first victory at home since mid-June with an entertaining 3-0 shutout of Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday, September 11 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. It also marked interim head coach Richard Chaplow’s first career win at home since he took over in mid-August.
“It is a little bit of a mental hurdle when you know you’re in a rut [winless at home since June] and under a lot of pressure, but the big elephant in the room has now been taken care of,” Chaplow said. “Now it is back to business and focusing on taking as many points as we can now for the remaining games.”
The game kicked off with OCSC energized and pushing the ball upfield into the attacking third. Las Vegas tried to keep up with the physical play of OCSC’s midfield, but did not find much success. OCSC searched for the first breakthrough though they were inconsistent in their finishes.
In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, OCSC scored the game’s first goal with a header from defender Robbie Kiernan off a set-piece delivery from midfielder Eric Calvillo. Both of Kiernan’s two goals of the season have come from headers against Las Vegas.
“I had one the other time [in Las Vegas] and then actually had one off the bar so I was close to getting two last time,” Kiernan said. “I always give Eric [Calvillo] a bit of stick about his delivery so I owe him that one [on tonight’s goal].”
The second half was filled with fouls, cards, and goals all going OCSC’s way. Las Vegas defender Mohamed Traore did not fare well with OCSC’s frontline attacks that continuously blew past him with their speed. As Las Vegas resorted to committing hard fouls, Traore’s faults were proved to be too hard to the referee’s liking and was shown two yellow cards in the span of three minutes to put his team down to ten men for the rest of the night.
For the last thirty minutes, OCSC brought on forward Thomas Enevoldsen to get him more match action and keep the team playing at a high level. He replaced midfielder Mikko Kuningas who is one yellow card away from suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
In the 84’, OCSC midfielder Ben Mines drew a foul in the penalty area as he tried to dribble by Las Vegas goalkeeper Alexander Rando who ended up taking Mines down. The referee pointed to the spot and Enevoldsen calmly converted the penalty with his right-footed shot in the bottom left corner.
OCSC put the game out of reach with its third goal in the 89’ with forward Ronaldo Damus’s team-leading 12th goal of the season. It was an early birthday present to Damus who turned 22 the next day.
“I feel happy because it’s been a long time and we take this momentum forward,” Damus said.
OCSC made their final two substitutions in the 90’ which saw midfielder Seth Casiple make his season debut after being on the injury report since preseason. As the final whistle sounded, OCSC clinched a clean sheet with a complete performance from both the offense and the defense.
“We got Paul [Hardyman] now as my assistant who is a defender by trade so we are able to separate the units in training with specialized coaches,” Chaplow said. “Paul has been working really hard reinforcing the compactness and the aggression which you saw tonight and [I’m] delighted that they’re able to get out on the field and perform.
It was OCSC goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky’s sixth clean sheet this year.
An overall team effort to earn three points gave OCSC another boost in staying above the playoff line in the Pacific Division. OCSC faces a tough road test against Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, September 18.
“The results the last couple of months haven’t been obviously up to standard, but I feel like this has been a real test of character, sticking together and doing the right things,” Kiernan said. “It’s nice to get a win for sure!”
Orange County SC earned their first victory at home since mid-June with an entertaining 3-0 shutout of Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday, September 11 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. It also marked interim head coach Richard Chaplow’s first career win at home since he took over in mid-August.
“It is a little bit of a mental hurdle when you know you’re in a rut [winless at home since June] and under a lot of pressure, but the big elephant in the room has now been taken care of,” Chaplow said. “Now it is back to business and focusing on taking as many points as we can now for the remaining games.”
The game kicked off with OCSC energized and pushing the ball upfield into the attacking third. Las Vegas tried to keep up with the physical play of OCSC’s midfield, but did not find much success. OCSC searched for the first breakthrough though they were inconsistent in their finishes.
In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, OCSC scored the game’s first goal with a header from defender Robbie Kiernan off a set-piece delivery from midfielder Eric Calvillo. Both of Kiernan’s two goals of the season have come from headers against Las Vegas.
“I had one the other time [in Las Vegas] and then actually had one off the bar so I was close to getting two last time,” Kiernan said. “I always give Eric [Calvillo] a bit of stick about his delivery so I owe him that one [on tonight’s goal].”
The second half was filled with fouls, cards, and goals all going OCSC’s way. Las Vegas defender Mohamed Traore did not fare well with OCSC’s frontline attacks that continuously blew past him with their speed. As Las Vegas resorted to committing hard fouls, Traore’s faults were proved to be too hard to the referee’s liking and was shown two yellow cards in the span of three minutes to put his team down to ten men for the rest of the night.
For the last thirty minutes, OCSC brought on forward Thomas Enevoldsen to get him more match action and keep the team playing at a high level. He replaced midfielder Mikko Kuningas who is one yellow card away from suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
In the 84’, OCSC midfielder Ben Mines drew a foul in the penalty area as he tried to dribble by Las Vegas goalkeeper Alexander Rando who ended up taking Mines down. The referee pointed to the spot and Enevoldsen calmly converted the penalty with his right-footed shot in the bottom left corner.
OCSC put the game out of reach with its third goal in the 89’ with forward Ronaldo Damus’s team-leading 12th goal of the season. It was an early birthday present to Damus who turned 22 the next day.
“I feel happy because it’s been a long time and we take this momentum forward,” Damus said.
OCSC made their final two substitutions in the 90’ which saw midfielder Seth Casiple make his season debut after being on the injury report since preseason. As the final whistle sounded, OCSC clinched a clean sheet with a complete performance from both the offense and the defense.
“We got Paul [Hardyman] now as my assistant who is a defender by trade so we are able to separate the units in training with specialized coaches,” Chaplow said. “Paul has been working really hard reinforcing the compactness and the aggression which you saw tonight and [I’m] delighted that they’re able to get out on the field and perform.
It was OCSC goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky’s sixth clean sheet this year.
An overall team effort to earn three points gave OCSC another boost in staying above the playoff line in the Pacific Division. OCSC faces a tough road test against Phoenix Rising FC on Saturday, September 18.
“The results the last couple of months haven’t been obviously up to standard, but I feel like this has been a real test of character, sticking together and doing the right things,” Kiernan said. “It’s nice to get a win for sure!”
Orange County SC vs Las Vegas Lights FC
USL Championship | September 11, 2021
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PDT
Weather: Warm and toasty with a side of dill
Orange County SC vs Las Vegas Lights FC
USL Championship | September 11, 2021
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium (Irvine, CA)
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PDT
Weather: Warm and toasty with a side of dill
SCORING SUMMARY:
45+3’ Robert Kiernan (OCSC)
84’ Thomas Enevoldsen PEN (OCSC)
89’ Ronaldo Damus (OCSC)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
43’ Robert Kiernan
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC
20’ Dylan Presto
39’ Armando Avila
45+2’ Frank Daroma
50’ Mohamed Traore
53’ Mohamed Traore (RED)
83’ Alexander Rando
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP:
Patrick Rakovsky (GK), Kevin Alston, Dillon Powers, Robbie Kiernan, Michael Orozco (C ), Brian Iloski, Ronaldo Damus (90’ Aidan Apodaca), Thomas McCabe (30’ Mikko Kuningas) (62’ Thomas Enevoldsen), Eric Calvillo (90’ Seth Casiple), Sean Okoli (68’ Ben Mines), Kobi Henry
Unused subs: Abraham Romero (GK), Nate Smith
Head Coach: Richard Chaplow (Interim)
Stats: Possession: 55.1% | Shots: 16 | Shots On Goal: 12 | Corners: 5 | Fouls: 16 | Offsides: 2 |
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC LINEUP:
Alex Rando (GK), Mohamed Traore, Nathan Sepulveda, Bruce El Mesmari (60’ Christopher Jaime), Daniel Trejo, Roberto Molina ( C ), Tristan Weber, Frank Daroma, Christian Torres (71’ Julian Vazquez), Armando Avila (85’ Javen Romero), Dylan Presto (60’ Michael Yeboah)
Unused subs: Donovan Palomares (GK)
Head Coach: Steve Cherundolo
Stats: Possession: 44.9% | Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 1 | Corners: 2 | Fouls: 13 | Offsides: 1 |
SCORING SUMMARY:
45+3’ Robert Kiernan (OCSC)
84’ Thomas Enevoldsen PEN (OCSC)
89’ Ronaldo Damus (OCSC)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
43’ Robert Kiernan
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC
20’ Dylan Presto
39’ Armando Avila
45+2’ Frank Daroma
50’ Mohamed Traore
53’ Mohamed Traore (RED)
83’ Alexander Rando
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP:
Patrick Rakovsky (GK), Kevin Alston, Dillon Powers, Robbie Kiernan, Michael Orozco (C ), Brian Iloski, Ronaldo Damus (90’ Aidan Apodaca), Thomas McCabe (30’ Mikko Kuningas) (62’ Thomas Enevoldsen), Eric Calvillo (90’ Seth Casiple), Sean Okoli (68’ Ben Mines), Kobi Henry
Unused subs: Abraham Romero (GK), Nate Smith
Head Coach: Richard Chaplow (Interim)
Stats: Possession: 55.1% | Shots: 16 | Shots On Goal: 12 | Corners: 5 | Fouls: 16 | Offsides: 2 |
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC LINEUP:
Alex Rando (GK), Mohamed Traore, Nathan Sepulveda, Bruce El Mesmari (60’ Christopher Jaime), Daniel Trejo, Roberto Molina ( C ), Tristan Weber, Frank Daroma, Christian Torres (71’ Julian Vazquez), Armando Avila (85’ Javen Romero), Dylan Presto (60’ Michael Yeboah)
Unused subs: Donovan Palomares (GK)
Head Coach: Steve Cherundolo
Stats: Possession: 44.9% | Shots: 5 | Shots On Goal: 1 | Corners: 2 | Fouls: 13 | Offsides: 1 |