Oakland Roots vs. Orange County S.C. - Match Preview (July 31, 2021)

The Roots host Orange County Soccer Club on July 31, at 5:30 p.m. at Las Positas College in Livermore.  This is the second meeting of the teams this season, and the first in Oakland Livermore.  This is also the last game that the Roots will play at Las Positas*

Roots say tickets are available.  Unfortunately, the Blog will not be in attendance at this one, so we are counting on you all to go out there and make it a fortress.**

*because of the field--they still have to play more there because of scheduling conflicts.

**all we ask is that you do your best.

The Club

As we mentioned in our preview of the debut fixture, Orange County Soccer Club are a partner of Rangers FC.  A little enclave of Great Britain in Orange County.

The Last Match-Up

See our full write-up of the first match here.

The first time around, Ronaldo Damus scored the only goal of the match in the 45th minute. Damus tapped in a cross from Chris Wehan, who was wide open BECAUSE HE WAS OBVIOUSLY OFFSIDE.

This replay reminds us that we are huge fans of the “Corner Bakery Corner Kicks.”

We requested the club give us permission to use one of Alfonso Bui's beautiful shots of the Great Orange Orb of Orange County Great Park, but they wisely do not open my DMs.

Orange County S.C.’s Form

When these teams last met, Roots were on 4 points from 3 games, and OCSC were on 7 points from 5 games. Roots have picked up (jesus christ) 2 points from their next 6, and OCSC have picked up 15 from their next 10 (in both cases counting the Roots-OCSC fixture).  However, OCSC are on something of a skid, with three losses and a draw over their last four.  Over those last four games, OCSC have shipped 10 goals, including 3 away to LV lights in their most recent.  

Orange County sit second in the Pacific Division, tenth in USL overall, and have a +3 goal differential, meaning they are the only Pacific team other than Phoenix with a positive GD. Their top scorer is Ronaldo Damus with 7 [Most teams have a top scorer with a total of 7-9 goals, the major exceptions are Colorado Springs with Hadji Barry’s 13, and the Roots who have a total of 7 goals].

Orange County are a decent team, but the last four matches suggest that they are not in the same class as Phoenix (who is?).

Players to Watch

Last time around we highlighted Rob Kiernan and Michael Orozco. Those two still account for the most minutes among outfield players. We also highlighted Rangers-loanee Rhys Breen, who we mentioned OCSC fans are excited about. Well, that was Breen’s last game for OCSC, as he moved to a Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic. The Blog does not shy away from mocking the Scots, but this is in fact the team’s actual name.

Ronaldo Damus # 11 - As we discussed above, Damus leads OSCS with 7 goals. Damus is only 21, and recently appeared in all three games in Haiti’s brief stint in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Damus is 5th in USL in goals per 90 minutes, and had scored 6 and assisted 1 in his five games leading up to the Gold Cup. He netted one against Sacramento on July 24, and was silent for the full 90 in OCSC’s loss to LV Lights. Damus’s brace from OCSC’s June 19 win over LV Lights are back-to-back at the 1:34 mark here:

Both poachers' goals, which may not be representative, but there’s also this one:

Mikko Kuningas # 25 - remember the thing where AI put together thousands of images of people from a country and spat out the average face? This is what came up for Finland:

Kuningas is a 23-year-old Finn, who in 2015 “visited Brazil to get acquainted with the activities of Fluminense FC,” per Wikipedia.  The OCSC website describes Kuningas as a box-to-box midfielder, which is consistent with the just incredibly minimal research I’m putting into this on a Friday afternoon.  More importantly, Kuningas is from a town in Finland that apparently translates to “Bone Hill.” 

Predictions:

Bloom (FPR) - the Roots are going to do it. Hopefully at this point no one is betting based on my predictions. They’re complete garbage. You know what’s not complete garbage? The Oakland God Damned Roots, that’s who/what. Roots 3-1 in an offensive outburst that sends shockwaves through the Pacific Division. MOTM Enriquez in his return to the team.

RootsBlog - 

2-0 OCSC