Academy Team Take a Step Backwards
All good things come to an end in sports and Orange County’s strong start to the USL-Academy season sees its first bump in the road. On Wednesday night (July 16), the academy team suffered their first defeat of the season in what was just their second home game in 2025. The first defeat came at the hands of last year's Southwest Division champions West Coast FC who used a strong defense that frustrated the OC forwards all game.
There were a couple of new faces in the OC lineup as well who all had quality performances which was a good note on the night.
FIRST HALF
Ashton Miles, Tetsuya Kadono and Ben Barjolo were the regular senior team members that all saw starts to this game. The rest of the lineup was the standard 4-3-3 formation. It was easily the quietest game for the OC offense who were not able to register a shot on target until a free kick late in the second half. But for the most part the defense was able to do the same. In fact neither side registered a single shot on target for the entirety of the first half.
Orange County for the majority of the night would hold the possession and like we have seen in every game the ability to move the ball between the backlines at a rapid pace has been very good to see. Alas, neither team could generate much offense and a very pedestrian 45 minutes had gone by with the score level at 0-0.
SECOND HALF
The possession based style of soccer would cost OC early in the second half. Coming off of a corner and with only two defenders back, West Coast FC were able to counter and in the 50th minute were able to find the back of the net after a nice run down the left side. West Coast had scored on their first shot on goal of the game and it ended up being the difference maker. It was a nice finish that got under Kadono towards the back post from the left side and it would end OC’s streak of perfect defense at 320 minutes.
One would like to see a bit of a response from OC after this but West Coast had set up a nice low block and they stifled many chances going forward. Barjolo would start to push the envelope a bit with his technical skills but the final pass or shot was never available. This is about the time where we would begin to see a number of substitutes make their way into the game for both teams.
Unfortunately nothing that OC did could really make a difference and they finished the match with only 2 shots on goal and neither of them really required anything special from the West Coast goalkeeper. I will give credit to the West Coast FC backline who made sure to plug up all holes and the right back in particular did well taking away the long ball. A bit frustrating from an offensive standpoint but that is how it goes. The night would end with West Coast coming out on top 1-0.
OVERVIEW
When covering these games, I always like to jot down some notes on players' performances. What I can say about this match is that each and every starter had multiple positive plays during the game. This was not a bad game by any stretch but really just a frustrating outcome. One player that did stand out is someone who has had professional experience before and that is midfielder Ben Norris. This was Ben Norris’s first start in 2025 for the academy team and one thing that has improved greatly has been his play with the ball at his feet. There were multiple instances where Norris was able to control a tough ball and beat his way past a defender that he had no business doing so. This paired with his improved ability to deliver long balls up forward made him the best player for OC this game.
OC still have their own destiny under control to return back to the Academy league playoffs. When counting each and every game including forfeits, OC should have 10 points through five games played. As of writing this the first place City SC have 15 points through six games played. They have a record of 5-1 with that one loss being to OC. Thus as part of OCII’s destiny, they will have a good chance of taking back the driver's seat when they return to action next Tuesday the 22nd at home against City SC. That match will be at 7 pm.