Know Your 2025 Playoff Opponent: Orange County SC

The playoffs are upon us! The Republic has earned the second seed in the Western Conference and will be hosting the seventh seed, Orange County, in the first round.

The season series has fallen in favor of Orange County. The two sides split the two matches in the regular season, but Orange County took the win in the group stage of the USL Cup. The two sides met early in April, with Orange County winning 2-1. An own goal was the decider in that contest. The second time the two sides met came in the USL Cup, as a winner in the 90+5' minute from Pedro Guimares snagged the match for Orange County. But in the third match in October, the Republic rotated the squad because the USL Cup final was the following weekend. But this rotated squad managed a victory with a substitute, Khori Bennett, who scored the late winner for the Republic. This last match is actually the last time Orange County suffered defeat in the regular season. In the five matches after that, Orange County earned impressive draws against El Paso, New Mexico, and Louisville. And their two wins were against San Antonio and a decision-day showdown against Indy.

Some related content:

The USL Show (from the 51:45 minute mark) - Link

Orange and Black Soccercast - Link

League Preview (written by Nicholas Murray)- Link

Quail City Soccer's tactical recap from April (written by Valor Nash) - Link

Backheeled Power Rankings (written by John Morissey) - Link

Above is some related content from other outlets and their thoughts on this matchup, if you want more perspectives. This is my second time writing specifically about Orange County this season, if you want to see my preview before the USL Cup match you can click here. So, below is my playoff match preview.

Orange County SC

Manager: Danny Stone

Formation: 4-1-4-1 / 4-4-2

Regular Season W-L-D: 10-11-9 (7th in USL Western Conference)

Last 5 Games: DDWDW

Players to Watch: Chris Hegardt, Ethan Zubak

Top Goalscorers: Ethan Zubak - 11 goals

Top Assists: Chris Hegardt - 8 assists

Top Yellow Cards: Chris Hegardt - 8 yellow cards

Top Red Cards: Stephen Kelly - 2 red cards

Zubak opens the score 💪#ForCounty | #OCvSAC pic.twitter.com/mu7dipjAWg

— Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) April 13, 2025

We'll take it 😌#ForCounty | #OCvSAC pic.twitter.com/wl88jqtq9H

— Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) April 13, 2025

Pedro with the game winner 👏 #ForCounty 🍊 pic.twitter.com/Cd8ShWEvjt

— Orange County SC (@orangecountysc) June 29, 2025

Going into decision day, there were realistically four teams that could've been the seventh seed: Colorado Springs, Orange County, San Antonio, and Lexington. And out of those four teams, Orange County was the one I was most fearful of. They're the only team of those four to record a win against the Republic this year, let alone two. They're also the team out of those four to score the most goals against the Republic this year. They have the best attack of those four, scoring 44 goals, which matches the Republic's total this year. And they have shown in all three matches that they aren't scared of the Republic. Orange County can stretch and pull the Republic defense to get their opportunities. The team is littered with attacking creativity. To lead the line, you have Ehtan Zubak on 11 goals in the league this year, tied for 10th in the league, with Tristan Tager in support. Across the three matches, Zubak leads all Orange County players with 8 shots taken against the Republic. And he is the one who has put the Republic's keepers to the test the most, leading the team with 3 shots on target. Zubak will be the primary target for Orange County. And they have a variety of ways to reach their main striker. Out on the wings, you have creativity in bunches coming from Chris Hegardt with 8 assists, tied for 5th in the league, on one side and Bryce Jamieson on the other. Hegardt accounts for 25% of Orange County's total assists in the regular season. And then, when Chris Hegardt tucks inside, you will have to deal with Ryan Doghman making the overlapping runs. And that is just the starting lineup. Ousmane Sylla has been on a hot streak as of late. In the final stretch of the season, Sylla scored the game winners against San Antonio and Indy, so look for Danny Stone to bring him in off the bench. And you can see how Orange County likes to attack in the first clip posted above. They want to take advantage of the space left behind by the wingbacks and get you quickly in the transition. Their wingers are dynamic and can create space for themselves and generate scoring opportunities from wide. 

Orange County plays with a back four setup. Nico Benalcazar is the tough centerback who will throw tackles at anyone coming his way and usually comes away with a win. Benalcazar leads the team with tackles attempted and is second in tackles won. He is the last line of defense before Colin Shutler in net. Possibly the most impressive performance in that final stretch is the 0-0 draw against Louisville. Although Louisville locked up the Player's Shield by that point in the season, they were still putting in an effort in that match. Louisville outshot Orange County 24-6, with 5 of those shots on target. Colin Shutler was called on 5 times in that match and came up to meet Louisville each time, earning the clean sheet. Shutler narrowly edges out Danny Vitiello in saves, with 75 to Vitiello's 73, good for 3rd in the league. But there is one other layer of protection in this Orange County setup, and that's in the midfield. The midfield duo of Stephen Kelly and Kevin Partida will look to dictate the pace of play and win the battle in the middle of the park. Kevin Partida is the enforcer in the midfield, also serving as a team leader, ranking third in tackles attempted and fourth in tackles won. He plays in the same capacity as Luis Felipe or Justin Portillo, trying to win the ball back quickly and distribute it to his attackers. It is worth noting that Danny Stone had to make a replacement at right back, rather than his usual setup. Pedro Guimares was called up into the US U-17 camp ahead of their match against Indy. In his stead, midfielder loanee Malik Pinto dropped back into the defense. If Pinto is in the starting lineup in that position, that might be an area of the pitch the Republic will look to exploit.

Republic's Way of Victory: This game may come down to who scores the first goal. Over the course of the regular season, both teams have shown they can hold a lead. Neither team lost a game if they scored first in the regular season. The record for Orange County is 10-4-0. And the record for Sacramento is 12-4-0. But if these teams find themselves in a hole, who can dig themselves out? If Orange County concedes the first goal, they have lost almost every match in the regular season with a record of 0-1-11. That one draw was a 4-4 result against Birmingham after conceding a goal in the third minute. Sacramento's record when they concede the first goal is slightly better at 1-3-8. That one win, however, came in the first match of the season against a New Mexico side that got a red card. The three draws were against Indy, Oakland, and Lexington. Both teams will want to come out fast and get that all-important first goal to set the tempo. If Sacramento can get the first goal, Orange County will have to do something they haven't been able to do and get a comeback victory. Sacramento does have the ability to get a comeback, but that's a track record against teams that didn't make the playoffs. Orange County will send forwards at you and run directly at you, trying to connect with through balls and crosses into the box. Keep track of the runners and force another player other than Ethan Zubak to become the primary target. And force Chris Hegardt and the rest of the midfield to play negative, cut off passes coming Hegardt and Jamieson. The matchup to watch I think will come down the flank. Specifically the Orange County left going against the Sacramento right. The creativity of Chris Hegardt and Ryan Doghman has bitten the Republic in the past, so the responsibility will fall to whoever lines up directly against them to shut down that vital channel for Orange County, ideally Jack Gurr and Russell Cicerone/Cristian Parano. There will be space left behind Doghmann as he moves forward, so take advantage of it and work that channel. Do not let players like Nico Benalcazar and Kevin Partida dictate the tempo and win those duels; the team will have to be physical in the center of the field to keep up with those two. And just in general, convert your chances. Over the course of the three matches this year, Sacramento outshot Orange County 41 to 31. And the same for shots on target with Sacramento's 13 to Orange County's 8. Even the expected goals totals favor the Republic, with a value of 5.28, compared to Orange County's 4.44. But it is Orange County with 4 goals in this matchup, to Sacramento's 3. There will be opportunities against this side, and it will be up to the Republic's attackers to make the most of those chances.