IRVINE, Calif. – Orange County SC made a statement in their opening match of the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs, defeating Saint Louis FC 4-0 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California. Since the USL began utilizing a two-conference system in 2015, the side began the night looking to reverse the trend that had seen the top seed in the Western Conference go done in defeat in the Quarter Final match of the playoffs.
The scoring got underway early in front of 3,000+ fans with forward Thomas Enevoldsen setting up forward Michael Seaton in the 11th minute. That would not be the only goal the Jamaican scored on Saturday night.
Saint Louis would go down a man in the 21st minute as Tony Walls was shown the straight red card after an incident with Seaton for unsportsmanlike behavior and one that would significantly impact the balance of the match for both sides. OCSC would take advantage soon after.
Defender Kevin Alston delivered a beautiful cross into the area and Seaton was able to rise above goalkeeper Tomas Gomez to head the ball into the empty net, giving OC a 2-0 lead by the half-hour mark.
One of the top playmakers in the USL set up Seaton’s third goal, as midfielder Aodhan Quinn dribbled towards the endline before serving up a pass right in front of goal. Seaton touched it home in the 64th minute. Midfielder Mats Bjurman closed the scoring two minutes later on easily a top ten goal of the season for the side, coming off an assist from forward Darwin Jones and a beautiful back-heel from Enevoldsen.
After the 4-0 win, Orange County SC advances to the Western Conference semifinals where they will host Reno 1868 FC on Saturday night at 7 PM. Reno defeated Real Monarchs SLC with a stoppage time goal in the battle of the 4 and 5 seeds. The semifinal sets up a rematch of the regular season finale where Reno defeated OCSC 3-1 last Saturday on Reno’s home turf.
Tickets for Saturday’s are available for the match at www.orangecountysoccer.com/2018playoffs
Stat Highlights
Orange County SC had the largest margin of victory (four) of any first round of the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.
Michael Seaton converted all three of his shots on target and scored the fourth ever USL postseason hat-trick, according to USLSoccer.com.
Aodhan Quinn completed a highly-efficient 91% of his 84 passes and created two chances.
Helping Quinn control the midfield, Richard Chaplow connected on 97% of his passes, created three chances, and had 94% accuracy in the attacking half of the pitch.
IRVINE, Calif. – Orange County SC made a statement in their opening match of the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs, defeating Saint Louis FC 4-0 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California. Since the USL began utilizing a two-conference system in 2015, the side began the night looking to reverse the trend that had seen the top seed in the Western Conference go done in defeat in the Quarter Final match of the playoffs.
The scoring got underway early in front of 3,000+ fans with forward Thomas Enevoldsen setting up forward Michael Seaton in the 11th minute. That would not be the only goal the Jamaican scored on Saturday night.
Saint Louis would go down a man in the 21st minute as Tony Walls was shown the straight red card after an incident with Seaton for unsportsmanlike behavior and one that would significantly impact the balance of the match for both sides. OCSC would take advantage soon after.
Defender Kevin Alston delivered a beautiful cross into the area and Seaton was able to rise above goalkeeper Tomas Gomez to head the ball into the empty net, giving OC a 2-0 lead by the half-hour mark.
One of the top playmakers in the USL set up Seaton’s third goal, as midfielder Aodhan Quinn dribbled towards the endline before serving up a pass right in front of goal. Seaton touched it home in the 64th minute. Midfielder Mats Bjurman closed the scoring two minutes later on easily a top ten goal of the season for the side, coming off an assist from forward Darwin Jones and a beautiful back-heel from Enevoldsen.
After the 4-0 win, Orange County SC advances to the Western Conference semifinals where they will host Reno 1868 FC on Saturday night at 7 PM. Reno defeated Real Monarchs SLC with a stoppage time goal in the battle of the 4 and 5 seeds. The semifinal sets up a rematch of the regular season finale where Reno defeated OCSC 3-1 last Saturday on Reno’s home turf.
Tickets for Saturday’s are available for the match at www.orangecountysoccer.com/2018playoffs
Stat Highlights
Orange County SC had the largest margin of victory (four) of any first round of the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs.
Michael Seaton converted all three of his shots on target and scored the fourth ever USL postseason hat-trick, according to USLSoccer.com.
Aodhan Quinn completed a highly-efficient 91% of his 84 passes and created two chances.
Helping Quinn control the midfield, Richard Chaplow connected on 97% of his passes, created three chances, and had 94% accuracy in the attacking half of the pitch.