The night at Toyota Field began with the intensity of a postseason match, as both sides knew a result would significantly affect their Western Conference playoff positioning. Orange County SC and San Antonio FC traded early probes, testing each other’s defensive lines while possession shifted frequently in the opening stages.
San Antonio broke the deadlock in the 15th minute when Emil Cuello found space amid traffic in the attacking third. The Argentine-born midfielder/defender weaved through OCSC pressure and finished past a diving Alexander Rando to give the hosts a 1–0 lead.
The remainder of the half stayed competitive, with both teams continuing to create and test the opposition. San Antonio settled into a more controlled rhythm after the goal, holding the majority of possession and looking to manage the tempo while protecting their advantage. Orange County SC remained dangerous in transition but found it difficult to sustain pressure against San Antonio’s structured 5-4-1 setup.
A yellow card to OCSC’s Stephen Kelly in the 20th minute added a further note of tension. The teams headed to the locker room at the break with the score 1–0 in favor of San Antonio, both sides looking to regroup and adjust for a decisive second half.
San Antonio FC extended its lead to 2–0 in the 59th minute. A dangerous cross from the left side of the field was met by a charging Emil Cuello, who controlled the ball inside the box with space around him. His initial effort was deflected by Alexander Rando, and the rebound fell to Cristian Parano, who rolled the finish into an empty net.
Orange County SC continued to search for a response. In the 75th minute, Ousmane Sylla collected the ball in midfield, beat his marker, and drove into space just outside the area. His right-footed strike from there narrowly missed the bottom-left corner.
The visitors pulled one back in the 86th minute. Captain Tom Brewitt carried the ball forward from deep before being dispossessed just outside the San Antonio box. The ball fell kindly to Yaniv Bazini, who quickly found Chris Hegardt bursting into the right side of the area. Hegardt took a touch and poked the finish past a rushing Joseph Batrouni into the left side of the net, cutting the deficit to 2–1.
After falling behind 2–0, the County Boys showed resilience in the closing stages. Chris Hegardt pulled one back in the 87th minute to make it 2–1, sparking a late push as Orange County SC threw numbers forward in search of the equalizer. Despite the pressure, San Antonio FC held firm through 4+ minutes of added time to secure the result.
The defeat leaves Orange County SC’s postseason aspirations dependent on results elsewhere, with their playoff hopes now resting on the outcomes of Phoenix Rising FC and Oakland Roots SC.
Stay tuned…
| TEAM | FIRST HALF | SECOND HALF | FULL TIME |
| OCSC | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| SA | 1 | 1 | 2 |
SCORING SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
86’ Chris Hegardt – Assist Yaniv Bazini
SAN ANTONIO FC
15’ Emil Cuello – Assist Nelson Blanco
59’ Cristian Parano
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
21’ Stephen Kelly – Yellow Card
63’ Santiago Suárez – Yellow Card
69’ Nico Benalcazar – Yellow Card
90’ Tom Brewitt – Yellow Card
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP: (4-3-3)
Alex Rando (GK); Tom Brewitt (C), Ryan Doghman (85’ Jamir Johnson), Nico Benalcazar (85’ Tyson Espy), Garrison Tubbs, Sydney Wathuta (46’ Ousmane Sylla), Kevin Partida (74’ Marcelo Palomino), Stephen Kelly (65’ Mataeo Bunbury), Chris Hegardt, Lyam MacKinnon, Yaniv Bazini
Unused subs: Tetsuya Kadono (GK); Finn O’Brien, Efren Solis
Head Coach: Dekel Keinan
Possession: 42% | Shots: 7 | Shots On Goal: 2 | Corners: 2 | Fouls: 12 | Offsides: 3 | Saves: 1
SAN ANTONIO FC: (5-4-1)
Joseph Batrouni (GK); Nelson Blanco, Mitchell Taintor, Santiago Suárez (74’ Daniel Barbir), Alex Crognale, Akeem Ward, Emil Cuello, Curt Calov (83’ Rece Buckmaster), Lucio Berrón, Cristian Parano (83’ Christian Sorto), Santiago Patiño (74’ Diogo Pacheco)
Unused Subs: Daniel Namani (GK); Christian Sorto, Alexis Souahy, Brian Guevara, Leonides Urrutia, Alex Greive
Head Coach: Carlos Llamosa
Possession: 58% | Shots: 13 | Shots On Goal: 4 | Corners: 5 |Fouls: 14 | Offsides: 2 | Saves: 1
Orange County SC v. Phoenix Rising FC
2026 USL Championship Match 30
Date: October 24, 2026
Venue: Toyota Field, San Antonio, TX