Orange County SC shuts out San Antonio FC, clinches home game in first round of playoffs
Orange County Soccer Club is headed back to the playoffs with momentum and the home crowd behind it, a familiar refrain for those dreaming of a repeat of its United Soccer League Championship title season of two years ago.
Milan Iloski’s first-half goal stood up for a 1-0 win over San Antonio FC in the home finale, before a sellout crowd of 5,500 on Saturday at Championship Soccer Stadium.
A short while after the final whistle, Orange County (16-11-6, 54 points) learned that it would have the chance to play in front of its fans again this season, New Mexico United’s 2-1 win over Phoenix Rising assuring the Irvine-based club a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
That match is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m., per an announcement made at the stadium following Saturday night’s match.
“We get a home game now,” Iloski said. “I think it was official tonight, so we’re dreaming about winning each game, going game by game, and making a run at the championship again. We already have one title as a club, so we’d love to add another. We’re going to fight every day, especially in the matches, to give ourselves the best chance.”
A mid-season coaching change was a precursor to Orange County’s last postseason appearance, when Richard Chaplow took the reins for Braeden Cloutier. Orange County is now headed by Morten Karlsen, the change being made after the club managed one win in its first eight games.
“He’s done brilliant,” midfielder Kevin Partida said of Karlsen. “When you look at the table and where we are now, where we came from. … I think you can see the personality of the team under him when you watch our matches. It’s a team that’s hard-working and confident on the ball.”
Orange County fought back against a San Antonio (14-6-13, 55 points) side that had beaten it 4-0 on the road two weeks prior. The sequel was a contentious affair, featuring nine cards, including a red card against forward Marc McNulty that had the hosts playing a man down 10 minutes into the second half.
“It was a very, very intense game,” Karlsen said. “Obviously, we had to adjust, also, being a man down. I think today, for us, was about after losing the first game down there, we got absolutely bullied, and I think we manned ourselves up for the challenge today, matched their intensity.
Iloski, who got four cracks at goal, finally broke through in the 44th minute. He was played into the box by midfielder Kyle Scott, ripping a low shot inside the left post for his team-leading 15th goal of the season.
“I felt the pressure coming on my hip,” Iloski said. “All night, they’re always so close to me, and anytime I touch the ball, they’re trying to kick me anytime they can. I kind of used that against them. I knew I was in the box, so he really couldn’t touch me, otherwise it would have been a [penalty kick].
“I just kind of felt his momentum and put the ball around him. From there, it was a pretty easy finish, to be honest, because the goalie’s blinded and anything low and on target is probably going to go in.”
San Antonio threatened to equalize in stoppage time, Tani Oluwaseyi lobbing a bid off the crossbar before it was played out by Andrew Fox. Goalkeeper Colin Shutler had to react quickly when the clearance was played back toward goal, making a lunging save to preserve the three points.
“Foxy being on the line there, he really saved my butt,” Shutler said. “My heart dropped, and when he saved me and just put me back into a position where I could help my team out again, thankfully I got in the right spot, and I was able to save that last effort for them.”
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