Kickoff: Saturday, July 27 (4:30 PM PDT)
Where: Protective Stadium (Birmingham, AL)
How to Watch: ESPN+
After a 2-0 shutout victory powered by a superb second half performance at The Champ on Saturday, Orange County SC now heads on the road to The Yellowhammer State for a duel with Birmingham Legion FC at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, AL at 4:30 PM PDT. The Black and Orange have now gone LWLW in their last four matches and are still looking for their first back-to-back result since April of this year, up against a Legion side that has fared quite well against Western Conference opposition.
STRUGGLING TO PROTECT PROTECTIVE STADIUM
Birmingham Legion FC enter Saturday’s contest in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a bit of an up and down week, losing 3-1 at home to Rhode Island FC on Wednesday, before becoming the first and only team to escape Isotopes Park with points after a 1-1 draw with New Mexico United on Saturday. It is a microcosm of their season of sorts, depicting their struggles at Protective Stadium (3-5-1) while also highlighting their success against Western Conference opponents (4-1-3). Both of last week’s matches also depict their recent struggle to score, having scored more than one goal in just one of their last five matches. They have three players tied for the team lead with three goals this season, midfielder Enzo Martinez leads all players with six goal contributions (3 G, 3 A).
2024 Regular Season Record: 8-4-8 (5th in USL-C Eastern Conference)
Goals Scored: 22 I Goals Allowed: 28 I Clean Sheets: 5
Players to Watch
F Tyler Pasher
M Enzo Martinez
LOOKING TO STRIKE WHILE THE IRON’S HOT
Orange County SC earned a hard fought 2-0 win over San Antonio FC at The Champ on Owners Night last Saturday. The County defense stole the headlines in more ways than one. Captain Markus Nakkim and defenders Andrew Fox and Dillon Powers all made their return into the starting lineup, alongside Jordan Chavez and Owen Lambe. They played in front of newcomer Tomás Gómez, making his first start in a competitive match in over a year. Nakkim and Lambe provided the goals and helped the entire defense keep SAFC off the scoreboard. It was the first league shutout for Gómez, the 2016 and 2017 USL Championship Golden Glove winner, in over 1,000 days…not a bad way to introduce himself to the Black and Orange faithful. Now, Hardyman’s men find themselves in a similar position to the last time they went on the road, searching for some consistency. OCSC have not won back-to-back matches since their defeats of FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC on March 30 and April 6. They have not had back-to-back results since that April 6 Memphis match and a draw with SAFC at Toyota Field a week later. Injuries have played a significant role in this fact, but now the team is beginning to take people off the injury list as it approaches the business end of the season. They can show they mean business Saturday, against a side that has struggled at home so far this season (3-5-1).
Players to Watch
M Chris Hegardt
GK Tomás Gómez
All-time record:
Orange County SC is 0-1-0 all-time against Birmingham Legion FC.
Previous Matchup: 2023 USL Championship
Orange County SC 1 – 2 Birmingham Legion FC (Championship Stadium, Irvine, CA)
Scoring summary: Emil Nielsen 30’ (OCSC), Juan Agudelo 33’ (BHM), Enzo Martinez 59’ (BHM)
A NIGHT OF FOOTY AND FITNESS
Orange County SC returns home to Championship Stadium next Saturday, August 3 for Get Fit Night as the County Boys take on USL Championship newcomers North Carolina FC at 7:00 PM! A limited number of tickets are still available, get yours here!
THE KITS ARE HERE!
The 2024 County Roads and Classic kits from our official outfitter at hummel are now back in stock! Our jet black kit features a road map of Orange County in orange on the front of the kit and our Orange home kit with black accents are now back in stock in all sizes. Grab your County Roads kit and Classic kit at the stadium on Saturday or at ocscshop.com today, and Rep the County!
FLEX ON ‘EM
Did you miss out on your chance to join Orange County SC’s Season Ticket Holder Family, but still want to attend multiple of OCSC’s remaining home matches at The Champ? Then our 10 ticket Flex Packs are exactly what you need! They’re the best way to attend multiple matches with a friend, or bring out the whole squad and use all 10 in one match! The choice is yours, it’s…flexible. Head to orangecountysoccer.com/flex-packs for more information.