Orange County SC fell 2-0 to Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday night at The Champ, as an energetic crowd packed the stadium for California Classic Night on a beautiful Southern California evening.
With the playoff push underway, the Black & Orange opened the match by putting intense pressure on their Sin City rivals.
Sydney Wathuta, the newest member of Orange County’s lineup, looked to make a statement in his USL Championship debut. In the 11’ minute, he broke past the Vegas defense, taking a right-footed shot that went just wide of the net.
Las Vegas took an early lead in the 13’ minute as Jonathan Rodriguez received a pass from Giorgio Probo and released a long-range shot that eked past the fingertips of County goaltender Alex Rando, giving Las Vegas the 1-0 lead.
The first half ended with Las Vegas in the lead and holding 63% possession. The County Boys would win a very dangerous set piece just outside the box in added time, but were unable to take the opportunity to test Tiston Henry in the Las Vegas goal.
OCSC came out of the locker room looking for the equalizer, taking three shots within the first 10 minutes, testing the Vegas back line, but were unable to seal the final finish to even out the score.
The Black & Orange found a close call when Ethan Zubak attempted a shot in the 89’ minute after receiving a deflected cross from Chris Hegardt and lacing it through to the box. The shot was too powerful for Henry to catch, but he pushed it over the crossbar for an OCSC corner.
Orange County would take the game to the final minute with Hegardt forcing Henry to make a spectacular save in the 90+2’ from the left side of his goal, as County were unable to find anything from the corner.
Las Vegas would find their second goal from an Oalex Anderson strike in the 90+4’ to wrap up the game and carry on their win.
The match ended after eight minutes of added injury time. Orange County finished with 48% possession, 10 total shots with three on target, compared to Las Vegas’ 52% possession, 10 total shots with five on target.
Next week, Orange County travels to Kentucky to face Lexington SC on Saturday, September 19, before returning home on September 23 for Owners Night and an “Uncorked” match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. For tickets and more information, click HERE.
| TEAM | FIRST HALF | SECOND HALF | FULL TIME |
| OCSC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LV | 1 | 1 | 2 |
SCORING SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC
13’ – Jonathan Rodriguez (Assist – Giorgio Probo)
90+5’ – Oalex Anderson (Assist – Patrick Leal)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
45+2’ Yellow Card – Manuel Arteaga (LVLFC)
45+5’ Yellow Card – Blake Pope (LVLFC)
45+6’ Yellow Card – Ousmane Sylla (OCSC)
75’ Yellow Card – Giorgio Probo (LVLFC)
90+6’ Yellow Card – Oalex Anderson (LVLFC)
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP: (4-1-4-1)
Alex Rando (GK); Tom Brewitt (C), Garrison Tubbs, Ryan Doghman, Ousmane Sylla (76’ Marcelo Palomino) , Lyam MacKinnon, Stephen Kelly, Chris Hegardt, Yaniv Bazini (68’ Mataeo Bunbury), Jaylin Lindsey (88’ Tyson Espy), Sydney Wathuta (76’ Ethan Zubak)
Unused subs: Tetsuya Kadono (GK); Jerome Carter Jr., Joaquin Castro, Paul Ngoie, Efren Solis
Head Coach: Danny Stone
Possession: 48% | Shots: 10| Shots On Goal: 3 | Corners: 7 | Fouls: 10 | Offsides: 0 | Saves: 3
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC LINEUP: (4-1-2-1-2)
Triston Henry(GK); Nate Jones, Blake Pope (86’ Themi Antonoglou), Oalex Anderson, Marc Ybarra, Benjamin Ofeimu, Giorgio Probo, Christian Pinzón, Johnny Rodriguez (43’ Manuel Arteaga, 90’ Aarón Guillén), Carson Locker (86’ Patrick Leal), Nykolas Sessock
Unused Subs: Charlie Lanphier (GK); Abraham Okyere, Edison Velez
Head Coach: Devin Rensing
Possession: 52% | Shots: 10 | Shots On Goal: 5 | Corners: 5 | Fouls: 12 | Offsides: 2 | Saves: 3
Orange County SC v. Las Vegas Lights FC
2026 USL Championship Match 24
Date: September 12, 2026
Venue: Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine, CA