Orange County FC

Orange County FC is an American soccer club based in Lake Forest, California. They began play in the National Premier Soccer League in the West Region’s Southwest Conference, in March 2017.[1] The club's colors are light blue and white. NPSL home matches are currently played at Portola High School and Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. Its supporters group is called the I5 Army, named after the Interstate 5.

Not to be confused with Orange County SC.
Orange County FC
Orange County Football Club logo
Full nameOrange County Football Club
Nickname(s)OCFC
Founded2009 (2009)
GroundPortola High School
Irvine, California
OwnerNader Dejbakhsh
NW Promotions
ManagerPaul Caligiuri
LeagueNPSL
20183rd - NPSL Southwest
WebsiteClub website

History

Orange County FC was founded in 2009, and competed in the SoCal Premier League between 2009 and 2016.

NPSL

On November 15, 2016, the club announced that it would join the NPSL as an expansion team for the 2017 season.

2017 season

OCFC finished second in the NPSL Southwest in its inaugural season in the NPSL Southwest, with a record of ten wins, five draws, and only one defeat. The club qualified to the playoffs where it defeated Riverside Coras 1-0 in the Regional First Round[2] and eliminated conference leader FC Arizona in the Regional Semifinal by a score of 2–0.[3] The victory meant that Orange County FC would qualify to the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

OCFC eventually fell to CD Aguiluchos USA by a score of 1–0 in the Regional Final, one game away from reaching the National Semifinals.[4]

2018 season

Orange County FC qualified to the West Region Playoff for the second year in a row after finishing third in the NPSL Southwest behind conference winners ASC San Diego and conference runners-up FC Golden State. OCFC finished the season with seven wins, four draws, and one loss.

OCFC defeated FC Arizona 3-0 in a Southwest Conference play-in match to advance to the Regional Quarterfinals.

After a 3-1 win over ASC San Diego in the Quarterfinals, OCFC defeated FC Golden State 4-2 to advance to the Regional Finals for the second season in a row and qualified to the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.[5] However, OCFC missed out on the National Semifinals once again after a shocking 6-4 defeat to FC Mulhouse Portland on July 21, 2018.[6]

2020 season

The team was not listed as a member of the NPSL ahead of the 2020 season.

2020 season

Orange County Football Club participated in the UPSL Western Conference - Socal North League.[7] They played one match against USA Soccer Stars FC and won by a score of 6-3.[7] The UPSL suspended their season on March 13th.[8]

U.S. Open Cup

2018

Orange County FC qualified to the 2018 U.S. Open Cup by finishing as one of the top eight teams in the 2017 NPSL Playoffs. On April 4, 2018, the US Soccer Federation announced the pairings for the First Round of the U.S. Open Cup in which OCFC drew Santa Ana Winds FC of the United Premier Soccer League.

OCFC defeated Santa Ana Winds FC 3-0 in its U.S. Open Cup debut on May 9, 2018 and advanced to the Second Round to face Fresno FC of the USL Championship.[9]

Orange County FC was eliminated in the Second Round after a 2-0 defeat in extra time to Fresno FC.[10]

2019

For the second consecutive year, Orange County FC qualified to the Second Round of the U.S. Open Cup after a hard-fought 2-0 win over FC Golden State Force of USL League Two on May 7, 2019.[11]

Orange County FC was drawn with Orange County SC of the USL Championship for the Second Round in a match that would become labeled by soccer journalists as "The Battle of Orange County". It would be OCFC's first time playing against a professional soccer club in a competitive match.

Orange County SC led 2-1 in stoppage time but center back Ryan Holland scored the equalizer to tie the game at 2-2. The match went to penalties and Orange County FC won 5-3 to advance to the Third Round to face Las Vegas Lights FC.[12]

They lost the fourth round of the cup to the LA Galaxy, 3-0.[13]

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  CUB José Miranda
2 MF  USA Michael Bryant
7 MF  USA Eder Arreola
9 MF  KOR Dowan Kim

Front office
  • Nader Dejbakhsh – Co-Founder
  • Carmel Dejbakhsh – Co-Founder
  • Dara Dejbakhsh – Co-Founder

See also

References
  1. "OCFC Joins the NPSL - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  2. "OCFC grind out victory over Riverside in NPSL Playoffs - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  3. "Orange County stun Arizona - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  4. "Dream season comes to an end for OCFC - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  5. "OCFC defeats Golden State 4-2! [Video] - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  6. "A Tough Loss to Swallow - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  7. "Standings | UPSL Division I". div1.upsl.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  8. "UPSL Season Suspended". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  9. "OCFC blank Santa Ana Winds 3-0! [Video] - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  10. "OCFC Falls to Fresno FC in U.S. Open Cup - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  11. "OCFC defeat FC GS Force in Open Cup! - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  12. "OCFC Pull Off Upset in Orange County Derby! - Orange County FC". www.ocfcsoccer.com. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  13. "Match Report: LA Galaxy begin 2019 U.S. Open Cup campaign with 3-0 win". 2019-06-13.
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