Orange County Soccer Club optimistic for 2024 season
Orange County Soccer Club held its media day at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine on Election Day.
The club already gave coach Morten Karlsen a vote of confidence well before Tuesday. In November, OCSC removed his interim tag and signed him to a multiyear contract.
The black and orange took off after Karlsen took over for Richard Chaplow in the middle of last season, moving from 11th place to second in the United Soccer League Championship Western Conference. They fell in the second round of the playoffs to eventual champion Phoenix Rising FC.
“Morten is very much a player-first coach, he likes to forge those close relationships,” said Peter Nugent, president of soccer operations and general manager of the club. “I think at the time, that’s what the group needed. Morten did a tremendous job last season, and we have full confidence that he can continue to take that on into 2024. For us, the big word that we used was ‘continuity,’ and that’s what we wanted to implement both on the coaching side and the player side.”
Nugent said Orange County Soccer Club brings back 16 players from last season, the most in club history.
The club is preparing for its home opener, March 23 against Miami FC and also has some positive outside factors.
“Home” feels more like home than ever after the Irvine City Council reached a 10-year agreement with Orange County Soccer Club last fall to continue having its matches at Championship Soccer Stadium.
On Tuesday, the club announced a five-year partnership extension with Hoag as healthcare provider and front-of-jersey sponsor. There are also more branding opportunities to come, OCSC president of business operations Dan Rutstein said.
“The stadium will look and feel very different this year, as a consequence of doing our 10-year deal,” Rutstein said. “This is our home now, and we can do things in our home that we couldn’t do in the stadium previously. It remains the city of Irvine’s stadium, but it’s Orange County Soccer Club’s home.”
On the field, Orange County lost prolific goal-scorer Milan Iloski to FC Nordsjaelland but retains his brother, Brian, a midfielder who has been with the side since 2020.
A reporter at media day told him that he was four appearances away from 100 caps, and 16 away from the club record for appearances set by Michael Orozco.
“I heard they’re building a statue for me,” Brian Iloski quipped. “It’s great being a part of this club for so long. I’m really looking forward to the year. We’re going to do what we can to bring another championship to Orange County.”
Orange County signed Corona native Ethan Zubak to bring some more firepower at forward, as well as Cameron Dunbar. Both are products of the LA Galaxy Academy.
Meanwhile, Bryce Jamison, who turned 18 in January, will also be looking to make an impact. The Atlanta native played for the U.S. Youth National Team last year at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.
He used words like “electric” and “aggressive” to describe his style.
“It is a lot of fun,” Jamison said. “I’m just trying to win as much as I can, and these guys really help me out with that. They make it fun along the way, so I do enjoy it a lot.”
The defense is a strength as the club returns its core there including team captain Markus Nakkim, Dillon Powers, Ryan Doghman, Owen Lambe and goalkeeper Colin Shutler.
“From my standpoint, having all of those guys back, it’s a dream come true for me,” Shutler said. “I feel like we have such a great understanding of how each other play, and we can build off how we ended the year last year. The usual thing in the USL is a lot of turnover, and that’s definitely different for us this year.”
The club always appreciates the support of its home fans at the 5,000-seat venue, and it’s a support that was present last year more than ever. Rutstein said that between 2016 and 2022, OCSC only sold out two home matches at the stadium.
Last year, by contrast, the black and orange sold out their last seven home matches of the year. Rutstein said that OCSC is already trending toward a sellout for the home opener on March 23.
“Even in that playoff game that we lost, [the fans] were just so positive and just always behind us,” Shutler said. “It lifts us so much as a team. I feel like if they are behind us playing at home, we can beat absolutely anybody in this league.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
