Kickoff: Saturday, August 17 (7:00 PM PDT)
Where: Championship Stadium (Irvine, CA)
How to Watch: At The Champ, Bally Sports SoCal, CBS Sports Golazo Network
Fresh off their first road result in over a month, Orange County SC return to center stage at The Champ as they host El Paso Locomotive FC for Sounds of OC Night on Saturday, August 17 at 7:00 PM. The County Boys are currently in possession of one of the last remaining playoff spots in the West, but with how tight the race is, points are at a premium. Like a backstage pass at a Great Park Live concert…
OUT OF TUNE
El Paso Locomotive FC enter Saturday’s contest in 12th place in the Western Conference. They have struggled to put together any sort of run so far this season. Through 23 matches, they have compiled only 16 points, have scored the least amount of goals in the USL Championship (18) and have allowed the most goals in the Western Conference (35, only Hartford and Miami have allowed more). However, they have seen an uptick in performance since the arrival of new head coach Wilmer Cabrera. Cabrera has led them to three wins and two draws in 12 matches. They are coming off a 2-0 midweek loss to Sacramento Republic FC and now head down the Golden State as they desperately try to keep their playoff hopes alive. A positive for the Locomotive? They have performed better on the road this season than they have at home, with three of their four wins coming away from Southwest University Park.
2024 Regular Season Record: 4-4-15 (12th in USL-C Western Conference)
Goals Scored: 18 I Goals Allowed: 35 I Clean Sheets: 3
Players to Watch
M Eric Calvillo
F Amando Moreno
ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE NO DOUBT
Orange County SC enter Saturday’s contest in 7th place in the Western Conference, holding on to one of the final playoff spots as the USL Championship season enters the home stretch. In their final 11 matches of the season, seven of them will be contested at the friendly confines of Championship Stadium. It also helps that they have the second kindest strength of schedule remaining in the Western Conference, per Dan Weiss of SAFC on X. However, a favorable schedule means nothing if you can’t turn that into results. After a gritty performance on the road against Tulsa last Saturday that earned them their first road point in over a month, OCSC will now look to carry that momentum into a home match with El Paso, a side they have earned a result against in each of their previous two matches.
Players to Watch
D Markus Nakkim
F Ethan Zubak
All-time record
Orange County SC is 2-3-4 all-time against El Paso Locomotive FC.
Previous Matchup: 2023 USL Championship Playoffs
Orange County SC 1 – 0 El Paso Locomotive FC (Championship Stadium, Irvine, CA)
Scoring summary: Milan Iloski 45 +1’ (OCSC)
GET READY TO ROCK AND ROLL!
Orange County SC is proud to be hosting the School of Rock Santa Ana for a pregame concert in the Fan Zone on Saturday! They will begin their performance at 6:10, so make sure that you’re in the gates early! Enjoy $9 Margarita specials during the entire concert leading up to kickoff!
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.