Kickoff: Saturday, October 26 (7:00 PM PDT)
Where: Championship Stadium (Irvine, CA)
How to Watch: At The Champ, FanDuel Sports Network SoCal, ESPN+
After officially clinching a spot in the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs, The County Boys play their final regular season home match at the friendly confines of Championship Stadium when they host Hartford Athletic for the first time on Saturday, October 26 at 7:00 PM. Hartford Athletic fight for their playoff lives while the Black and Orange fight for a higher seed as the Playoff Race begins…
NEW ENGLAND’S RISING STAR LOOKS TO RISE INTO THE PLAYOFFS
Hartford Athletic enters Saturday’s match in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. While they are still yearning for something more, it is worth noting that this is already one of Hartford Athletic’s most successful seasons. The Connecticut side is guaranteed to finish the season with their highest point total ever after their 2-2 draw on the road with Tampa Bay on Wednesday, best overall record, best home record (9-4-4) and longest unbeaten streak in club history (7). Since a loss to Rhode Island FC on August 10, Hartford has gone 6-1-4 to bring themselves firmly back into the playoff conversation. After Wednesday’s draw, they will need help elsewhere to get into the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. They’ll know their fate prior to taking the pitch Saturday night, but even if they get that help, they’ll need to help themselves at The Champ first, especially considering their 3-9-4 road record.
2024 Regular Season Record: 12-13-8 (9th in USL-C Eastern Conference)
Goals Scored: 37 I Goals Allowed: 49 I Clean Sheets: 9
Players to Watch
F Mamadou Dieng
M Michee Ngalina
ORANGE COUNTYYY…THIS ONE’S FOR YOU!
Orange County SC booked their ticket to the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs after a goalless draw at home last Saturday against the West’s Best in New Mexico United. It was a record setting night for goalkeeper Colin Shutler, who rewrote the Orange County SC record books once again after his 12th clean sheet on the season. This clean sheet moved him past a tie he was in with former goalkeeper Patrick Rakovsky and into sole possession of first place. Saturday’s goalless draw was just the second time under interim head coach Danny Stone that the Black and Orange have been kept off the scoreboard. In each of those matches, OCSC’s defense also shut out their opponents and were able to walk away with a point. Midfielder Seth Casiple dropped back into a more defensive role in the absence of midfielder Kevin Partida (Yellow Card Accumulation Suspension) and still continued his bright run of form, winning two tackles, five duels, and still leading the team in chances created (3). Expect the assists leader for the Black and Orange to be heavily involved in the buildup once again Saturday.
Players to Watch
M Seth Casiple
F Ethan Zubak
All-time record
Orange County SC is 0-0-1 all-time against Hartford Athletic
Previous Matchup: 2023 USL Championship
Hartford Athletic 1 – 1 Orange County SC (Trinity Health Stadium, Hartford, CT)
Scoring Summary: Milan Iloski 7’ (OCSC), Elvis Amoh 45 +8’ (HFD)
FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT OFFERINGS
Orange County SC closes out the 2024 USL Championship Regular Season on Saturday, October 26 against Hartford Athletic on Fan Appreciation Night and Oktobeer Fest! Grab your Halloween costume and sample over 50 different beers, seltzers, and ciders from around the County. This match will also feature a postgame autograph session, a tattoo artist, and many more surprises! Tickets are going fast, so grab yours here today!
PARKING WARNING
All fans in attendance to tomorrow’s match are encouraged to arrive early, as the Ektaa Diwali Festival will also be taking place at the Great Park on Saturday and will impact parking. Should Lot 2 be full due to a higher volume of people at The Great Park, we encourage you to use Lot 4 for the easiest Matchday experience. Due to both events expected to end around the same time, stick around after the match for Postgame Pints and our Fan Appreciation Night Player Autograph session to beat the traffic!
GO ALL IN FOR 2025!
34 cities, with one club to unite them all! Go All In on the 2025 Orange County SC season by placing a Season Ticket Holder deposit! For $34.01, you can unlock exclusive benefits like private parties, your very own entry to The Champ and merchandise discounts! For the full list of benefits and more information, go to orangecountysoccer.com/season-tickets!
THE KITS ARE HERE!
The 2024 County Roads and Owners 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 Owners kit with names of our owners in orange wave patterned accents on a bone colored kit are now back in stock in all sizes. Grab your County Roads kit and Owners kit along with the rest of our kit line at the stadium on Saturday or at ocscshop.com today, and Rep the County!