OC Soccer club earns draw and remains in playoff hunt

A goal by Orange SC defender Alex Crognale tied the match, 1-1.

Playing in the Pacific Northwest for the second time in two weeks, Orange County Soccer Club, which plays its home games at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, settled for a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC 2.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo.

Midfielder Aodhan Quinn nearly opened the scoring in the 8th minute for Orange County, but his great individual run ended with a shot going narrowly wide. On a free kick a minute later, Orange County would miss a close range effort over the bar.

Orange County SC fell behind in the 12th minute at Cheney Field. Goalkeeper Andre Rawls made a big save to deny S2 midfielder Azriel Gonzalez. However, midfielder Jesse Daley recovered the rebound and beat Rawls with a powerful strike from outside the box.

In the 57th minute, Orange County evened it off by way of a set piece. From a corner kick, Quinn found a leaping Alex Crognale and the defender blasted home the header.

The remainder of the match included quality chances for both clubs, but none that altered the scoreline. Sounders FC 2 saw a goal disallowed due to offside, and Quinn had a last minute shot from right in front of goal saved by S2 goalkeeper Bryan Meredith.

The visitors held a big edge in shots (14-5) and in possession (64 percent). Orange County now sits alone in second place in the USL’s Western Conference, now one point ahead of Phoenix Rising FC.

Orange County will return to Irvine on Saturday, Sept. 8 to host OKC Energy FC at Championship Soccer Stadium. Tickets are available at orangecountysoccer.com/tickets, or by calling 949-647-GOAL.

Orange County Soccer Club is part of the United Soccer League. The USL is comprised of 34 teams across the United States.  The team plays its home games at the Orange County Great Park’s Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, which holds 5,000 fans.

Orange County SC is also the official affiliate partner of the Los Angeles Football Club,  a new Major League Soccer franchise. Orange County SC was one of 12 founding members of the USL during its inaugural 2011 season.

The preceding club, Orange County Blues, won the 2015 Western Conference regular season championship and reached the Western Conference semi-finals of the USL playoffs in back-to-back seasons.