Kickoff: Saturday, August 5 (7:00 PM PST)
Where: Torero Stadium (San Diego, CA)
How to Watch: OCSC Away Day @ Torero Stadium, ESPN+
Orange County SC gets set to head down the 5 Freeway as they prepare to square off once again with fellow Southern California rival, San Diego Loyal SC on Saturday, August 5 at 7:00 PM PST. This week’s match preview is delivered to you, by Uber Eats! The SoCal summer sun isn’t the only thing heating up, as both teams enter Saturday in the midst of three game win streaks.
STIFLING SAN DIEGO DEFENSE
San Diego Loyal SC enter this Saturday’s contest in fourth place in the USL Championship’s Western Conference. As previously mentioned, they too are in the midst of a three match winning streak in the USL Championship, after being winless in their previous six matches before that (0-2-4). We say “in the USL Championship” because they were on the wrong end of a lopsided 6-0 scoreline to Bundesliga powerhouse Borussia Dortmund at Snapdragon Stadium last week. During this current stretch, they have outscored their opponents 9-0, with goalkeeper Koke Vegas making nine saves during his shutout streak. Maybe it’s the fact that they get six straight matches at home, or the fact that they have the league’s most favorable schedule moving forward, per USL Tactics’ John Morrissey, but San Diego seems to be turning a corner after a rough patch in the middle of the season.
2023 Regular Season Record: 9-5-6 (4th in USL-C Western Conference)
Goals Scored: 36 | Goals Allowed: 25 | Clean Sheets: 6
Players to Watch
F Ronaldo Damus
GK Koke Vegas
THE BLACK AND ORANGE LEAVE OTHERS SEEING RED
Following their 1-0 victory over New Mexico United in front of a sellout crowd at Championship Stadium last Saturday, Orange County SC won their third straight match and has now won seven of their last nine. No one in the league has claimed more points in that stretch. Goalkeeper Colin Shutler recorded two saves against NMU, good for his fourth clean sheet in that span. Shutler now has six shutouts on the season, moving him into a tie for seventh for the league lead. Forward Milan Iloski tallied his 10th goal of the season, his second straight season with double digit goals. He is the first OCSC player to do so since forward Michael Seaton in the 2018-19 seasons. Forward Bryce Jamison continues to make an impact off the bench as a super sub, following up a game-winning goal late against Memphis with an assist on the game-winner against New Mexico last Saturday. The 17-year-old Atlanta native continues to turn heads around the league. Strange but true: a red card has been shown to each of OCSC’s last three opponents.
Players to Watch
F Bryce Jamison
GK Colin Shutler
All-time record:
Orange County SC is 3-5-3 all-time against San Diego Loyal.
Previous Matchup: 2023 USL Championship
Orange County SC 1 – 2 San Diego Loyal SC (Championship Stadium, Irvine, CA)
Scoring summary: Tumi Moshobane 15’, Joe Corona – PK 19’ (SD), Korede Osundina 90 +6’ (OCSC)
TUNE IN ON ESPN+ AND ORDER UBER EATS WITH US!
Our newest partner, Uber Eats, is giving OCSC fans another discount code for this week’s match! While you’re sitting down to watch #SDvsOC, order your favorite takeout spot for the whole squad on Uber Eats and use the code “OCSCAWAYEATS” at checkout for $20 off your order of $40 or more. This code will be live Friday and will be valid until Sunday night, so be sure to use “OCSCAWAYEATS” at checkout on your Uber Eats order this weekend!
BACK TO BACK AGAINST THE BEASTS OF THE EAST
Orange County SC has a bye week next week, but returns to the friendly confines of Championship Stadium for two matches against the top two squads in the East, beginning on Wednesday, August 16 against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 7:00 PM PST for Women’s World Cup Wednesday. The Black and Orange follow that up with another home match on Saturday, August 19 against the Charleston Battery also at 7:00 PM PST for our End of Summer Beerfest. Our last two matches at The Champ have sold out, so come help us pack two more!! Tickets can be purchased here.
FLEX PACKS
Get your 10-game Orange County SC Flex Packs for the upcoming 2023 season. When you buy 9 tickets, you get a 10th for free! You can spread out the ten tickets across multiple games or bring out the whole crew for a game at the Champ. Flex packs can be purchased here.