August 18, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Orange County SC News Release
Orange County SC extended their points streak to three games in a 1-1 draw with the Las Vegas Lights FC on Wednesday, August 17 at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, CA.
The Orange and Black saw no changes to their starting lineup from their 2-1 victory over Phoenix last Saturday. Midfielder Dillon Powers and forward Milan Iloski saw to it that it was not the only thing that carried over from last week.
In the tenth minute, Powers lifted a ball over the top towards the path of Iloski that was helped on by Lights defender Morten Bjershol. Iloski brought the ball down with his shoulder, went around former OCSC goalkeeper Abraham Romero, and fired home his 19th goal of the season to give OCSC a 1-0 lead.
Patrick Rakovsky made his first save of the night in the 28th minute on a strong shot from Las Vegas forward Cal Jennings, parrying the ball away to defender Alex Villanueva who cleared the danger.
OCSC began the second half with a multitude of chances, but were unable to capitalize. These missed opportunities were only magnified when Jennings tapped home a rebound in the 53rd minute, after Rakovsky made the initial save on Jorge Almaguer.
After coming on for Erick “Cubo” Torres in the 63rd minute, Sean “Ugo” Okoli saw his shot deflected away by Romero. The ball then fell to Iloski on the rebound, but Romero again kept Orange County off the scoreboard.
Not to be outdone, Rakovsky made two big saves in the final 15 minutes to preserve a point for his side.
OCSC’s next match will be on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday, August 27 in a rematch of last year’s USL Championship Final. The Orange and Black will return home on Saturday, September 3 for a showdown with Memphis 901 FC. Tickets can be purchased here.
MILESTONES AND FACTS:
Milan Iloski has now come within one goal of the single season goal scoring record for Orange County SC with his 19th goal in the tenth minute. (20 goals, Thomas Enevoldsen 2018)
OCSC has now claimed points in five of their last six matches (2-1-3)
Daniel A. Pedersen marked his return from injury, after being brought on as a substitute in the 63rd minute.
TEAM FIRST HALF SECOND HALF FULL TIME
LVL 0 1 1
OCSC 1 0 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
10′ Milan Iloski (OCSC)
53′ Cal Jennings (LVL)
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY:
ORANGE COUNTY SC
26′ Kevin Partida
45′ Cubo Torres
75′ Kyle Scott
LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC
NONE
ORANGE COUNTY SC LINEUP:
Patrick Rakovsky (GK); Brent…