Orange County SC battled all night with their MLS opponent Portland Timbers, but came up just short in a 3-1 loss at Providence Park in Portland, OR. Forward Milan Iloski scored his record-breaking 29th goal in all competitions, cementing his place in the OCSC history books as the club’s all-time leading scorer.
The Black and Orange got off to an encouraging start, leading to an early chance in the eighth minute. Forward Bryce Jamison created space along the right flank and found midfielder Brian Iloski, who’s shot was then tipped over the bar by Portland goalkeeper Hunter Sulte.
OCSC threatened again in the 17th minute, when Brian Iloski played a cross into the box that was initially cleared away, but fell to midfielder Ashish Chattha just outside the box. Chattha struck it clean on the volley, but Sulte was again up to the task with a diving save low and to his right.
Shortly after, Portland then began to control play in their attacking third, leading to the game’s opening goal in the 37th minute from forward Marvin Loria.
The two sides went into halftime separated by the lone first half goal, but the match was still very much up for grabs.
The Timbers added their second goal of the night shortly after halftime in the 48th minute, via a header by Tyler Clegg off of a corner.
With the hosts leading 2-0, the Black and Orange were now in desperate need of a goal to turn the tides. In the 54th minute, their new all-time leading scorer pulled through. Milan Iloski played a quick give and go with forward Thomas Amang on the left side, and then rifled a shot past Sulte to bring the visitors within a goal at 2-1.
OCSC nearly leveled the match in the 69th minute. Substitute Dillon Powers made a darting run up the middle of the park, found Milan Iloski just outside the 18-yard-box who then got into the box after a give and go with substitute Emil Nielsen, but he saw his effort turned away by Sulte. Substitute Korede Osundina was there for a rebound attempt, but his shot deflected off the face of Sulte.
Portland put the game to bed in the 91st minute with a goal from in close and Orange County SC’s run in the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup came to a halt in Stumptown.
OCSC heads to the Land of Enchantment for a battle with New Mexico United on Saturday, April 29. They will return home to the Champ on Saturday, May 6 for our first Fiesta de Futbol celebration of the year against Southern California rival San Diego Loyal. These tickets will sell out and you can grab yours here.
MILESTONES AND FACTS:
With his goal tonight, forward Milan Iloski is now Orange County SC’s all-time leading goal scorer (29), surpassing former Jamaican forward Michael Seaton (28).
With an appearance as a substitute, this marked the first appearance back at Providence Park for defender Brent Richards since 2021.
This marked the first start this season for midfielder Brian Iloski.
| TEAM | FIRST HALF | SECOND HALF | FULL TIME |
| OCSC | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| POR | 1 | 2 | 3 |
SCORING SUMMARY:
37’ Marvin Loría (POR)
48‘ Tyler Clegg (POR)
54’ Milan Iloski (OCSC)
90’+2 Jaroslaw Niezgoda (POR)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
57’ Milan Iloski
PORTLAND TIMBERS
30’ Sebastián Blanco
90’ Hunter Sulte
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP:
Cody Cropper (GK); Ryan Doghman, Andrew Fox, Markus Nakkim (C), Alex Villanueva (Brent Richards 78’); Ashish Chattha, Kevin Partida (Kyle Scott 78’), Brian Iloski (Dillon Powers 57’); Milan Iloski, Thomas Amang (Emil Nielsen 64’), Bryce Jamison (Korede Osundina 64’)
Unused subs: Mark Hyan (GK), Seth Casiple
Head Coach: Richard Chaplow
Possession: 54% | Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 6 | Corners: 8 | Fouls: 8 | Offsides: 5 |
PORTLAND TIMBERS LINEUP:
Goalkeeper Hunter Sulte (GK); Pablo Bonilla, Larrys Mabiala, Tyler Clegg, Justin Rasmussen Noel Caliskan, Cristhian Paredes, Sebastián Blanco (C) (Jaroslaw Niezgoda 34’) , Diego Gutierrez (Eric Miller 65’), Marvin Loría, Tega Ikoba (Nathan Nogaça 73’)
Unused subs: Aljaz Ivacic (GK), Juan David Mosquera, Santiago Moreno, Victor Griffith
Head Coach: Giovanni Savarese
Possession: 46% | Shots: 18 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corners: 5 | Fouls: 16 | Offsides: 1 |
Orange County SC @ Portland Timbers
2023 U.S Open Cup | Third Round
Date: April 26, 2023
Venue: Providence Park (Portland, OR)
Weather: Oranges still smell better than Roses idc