Orange County SC

History

The then Los Angeles Blues were founded by Iranian-American businessman Ali Mansouri in 1998 and announced as a USL Pro expansion franchise on December 7, 2010. The team was associated with the United Soccer Leagues W-League team LA Blues, and is part of the larger Orange County Blues organization, which has competed in Los Angeles-area amateur leagues since 1998. They introduced their first three players—goalkeeper Oscar Dautt and midfielders Cesar Rivera and Josh Tudela—at a formal launch event on December 14, 2010.

After an extensive pre-season, the Blues played their first games in the Caribbean over the weekend of April 15–17, 2011, a 3–0 victory over Sevilla Puerto Rico, and a 2–1 victory over Antigua Barracuda. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Cesar Rivera.

In January 2012, the Blues announced the hiring of Steve Donner (formerly CEO of Orlando City) as vice president of business operations to focus on improving marketing for the club and to bring professionalism to the front-office. The first game of the 2012 season reflected these efforts with a 2,432 attendance compared to 696 for the first home game in 2011 (the Blues averaged 382 during the 2011 season).

In September 2016, the team was purchased by American businessman James Keston for $5 million and rebranded to Orange County SC. Keston had unsuccessfully attempted to purchase expansion teams in Major League Soccer for Portland, Oregon, and Seattle in the 2000s. Prior to the 2017 season, Orange County became the USL affiliate of Los Angeles FC in a multi-year deal, which was ended after 2018. The team won the Western Conference Regular Season Title in 2018 with 20 Wins, 8 losses and 6 ties. They defeated Saint Louis FC and Reno 1868 FC before losing 2–1 to Phoenix Rising FC in the Western Conference Final. Thomas Enevoldsen scored 20 goals and was named to the All-League First Team along with Aodhan Quinn.

In the 2021 season, Head Coach Braden Cloutier was dismissed mid-season and replaced by Assistant Coach Richard Chaplow. OCSC went on to finish second in the Pacific Division, and advance to the USL Championship Final, defeating Tampa Bay Rowdies away at St. Petersburg, Florida, 3–1 in regulation.

The 2022 season saw Richard Chaplow earn a last place Western Conference finish, despite Milan Iloski earning the USL Championship Golden Boot award. Orange County SC finished the 2022 season 7-14-13 with 34 points, last in the Western Conference.

The 2023 season also did not start strongly for Orange County, with just one win in eight games, with a 1-4-3 record before the team relieved Chaplow of duties and promoted newly hired assistant coach Morten Karlsen to interim head coach on May 1, 2023. Karlsen led the team to a season-end 2nd place Western Conference placement at 17-11-6, earning two consecutive USL Championship Coach of the Month awards for July and August. Coach Karlsen was appointed as Head Coach on a multi-year contract, announced November 2023.

Orange County lost star forward Milan Iloski during the 2024 January transfer window to Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland. The loss of the former Golden Boot winner resulted in Orange County having a mediocre start to their 2024 season, with a record of 6-3-6 by late June. This start contributed to Coach Karlsen making a transfer in the middle of the season to another club in the Danish Superliga, Lyngby BK. He was replaced by the assistant coach, Paul Hardyman, who after being labelled as an interim coach, was promoted to lead as the official coach, before he himself was sacked by the team and replaced by another assistant coach Danny Stone after a six-game winless streak. Under Danny Stone, Orange County was able to rescue their season and clinch a visit to the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the Western conference semi-finals against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Stadium

• Titan Stadium; Fullerton, California (2011–2013)
• Anteater Stadium; Irvine, California (2014–2016)
• Championship Soccer Stadium; Irvine, California (2017–present)

In October 2023, it was announced the City of Irvine and Orange County SC had drafted a 5-year agreement for the team to operate Championship Soccer Stadium. On October 23, City Council voted unanimously to approve the deal, striking a stadium naming right clause in the agreement for separate negotiation and later City Council approval. The 5-year agreement includes one 5-year renewal.

Club culture

Rivalry with Ventura County FC

Orange County competes in the 405 Derby against rivals Ventura County FC, formerly known as LA Galaxy II, nicknamed after Interstate-405, an interstate highway that links between Orange County and Los Angeles County. The clubs were in a dispute over who would play at Championship Soccer Stadium in late 2022, after leaked documents showed the Galaxy organization attempted to seize full-time usage of the venue. The rivalry has slowed down as of late, as after LA Galaxy II moved to MLS Next, the third tier of the American soccer system, both teams have only met in pre-season friendlies.[[File:OCSC County Line Coalition Supporter Group 2024-08-03.jpg|thumb|The County Line Coalition during an August 2024 match against [[North Carolina FC]]|left|237x237px]]

Supporter groups

Orange County has one main supporter group, named the County Line Coalition. A zero-fee supporter group that was founded in 2014 in correspondence with the rebrand from the Los Angeles Blues to the Orange County Blues SC, they mainly sit in the left corner of the general seating bleachers behind the north goalpost, chanting and singing songs adapted to the tune of popular music, like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver, amongst others.

Mascot

On April 9, 2021, Orange County introduced their new mascot, Gnarly. He is an orange, surf-themed monster that can be typically seen on game day and at various Orange County SC activities around the county.

Players and staff

Current roster

-- Do not add new players before their signing is officially announced by the club -- and do not assign unreferenced jersey numbers as well. -- Do not create articles for new draft picks until they make either their USL or US Open Cup debut – Players with international caps should not be bolded – as per Wikipedia:WikiProject_Football/Clubs – This is Wikipedia, not a football gazette. – Any unconfirmed and unsourced signing/transfer will be reverted at sight. – Thanks in advance.

Academy

Out on Loan

Front office

• USA James Keston – Owner & CEO
• ENG Peter Nugent – Sports Director
• ENG Dan Rutstein - Interim President of Business Operations

Technical staff

• ENG Danny Stone - Head Coach
• WAL Robert Earnshaw – Assistant Coach
• SWI Didier Crettenand – Assistant Coach
• USA Victor Nogueira – Goalkeeping Coach
• USA Mitch Deyhle – Director of Sports Medicine & Head Athletic Trainer

Head coaches

• USA Charlie Naimo (2011–2012)
• ESP Jesus Rico-Sanz (2012–2013)
• IRN Dariush Yazdani (2013–2014)
• SWI Oliver Wyss (2014–2016)
• ENG Barry Venison (2016)
• USA Logan Pause (2017)
• USA Braeden Cloutier (2018–2021)
• ENG Richard Chaplow (2021–2023)
• DEN Morten Karlsen (2023–2024)
• ENG Paul Hardyman (2024)
• ENG Danny Stone (2024-)

Record

Year-by-year

Main article: List of Orange County SC seasons

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the club. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Orange County SC seasons.

1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.

2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league play, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, and other competitive matches.

Honors

• USL Championship
  • Winners: 2021
• USL Championship Western Conference (playoffs)
  • Winners: 2021
• USL Championship Western Conference (regular season)
  • Winners (2): 2015, 2018

References

References

1. (September 8, 2016). "Irvine-based soccer team changes ownership". Orange County Register.
2. USLSoccer.com Staff. (September 8, 2016). "Blues Purchased by Southern California Businessman Keston". United Soccer League.
3. (August 10, 2011). "Mehrshad Momeni: Consumed by the Game". OurSports Central.
4. (August 2025). "OC Blues 2015 Player Postmortem: Mehrshad Momeni". Angels on Parade.
5. [http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/485304.html LA Blues Set to Play in USL PRO] {{webarchive. link. (December 10, 2010)
6. "Los Angeles Blues Sign First Three Players".
7. "United Soccer Leagues (USL)".
8. Scott French (April 13, 2012). [https://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles/soccer/post/_/id/15804/l-a-blues-starting-over-with-a-plan L.A. BLUES: Starting over, with a plan]. ESPNLosAngeles.com.
9. Baxter, Kevin. (April 25, 2023). "It'll be personal for owner James Keston when Orange County SC takes on Timbers". [[Los Angeles Times]].
10. USLSoccer.com Staff. (December 7, 2016). "LAFC, Orange County Blues FC Announce Multi-Year Partnership". United Soccer League.
11. MLSSoccer.com Staff. (December 14, 2018). "LAFC announce end of USL affiliation with Orange County SC". Alicia Rodriguez.
12. Merk, Carson. (November 4, 2018). "Record Season for Orange County Ends. Phoenix Rises.". OrangeCountySoccer.com.
13. (November 5, 2018). "Orange County SC Aodhan Quinn and Thomas Enevoldsen Named to 2018 USL All-League First Team". OrangeCountySoccer.com.
14. "Orange County SC dismiss head coach Braeden Cloutier".
15. (November 30, 2021). "Orange County SC drops Rowdies to win its first USL Championship title - SBI Soccer".
16. "MILAN ILOSKI WINS THE FIRST GOLDEN BOOT IN CLUB HISTORY".
17. "Standings".
18. "CLUB STATEMENT".
19. "HEAD COACH MORTEN KARLSEN BECOMES THE FIRST COACH IN CLUB HISTORY TO WIN USL CHAMPIONSHIP COACH OF THE MONTH".
20. "ORANGE COUNTY SC APPOINTS MORTEN KARLSEN AS HEAD COACH WITH NEW MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT".
21. Burke, Elias. (September 12, 2023). "Orange County SC's Milan Iloski moves to Nordsjaelland, continuing trend in USL". The New York Times.
22. (September 13, 2023). "Orange County SC's Milan Iloski headed to Europe after USL season".
23. "Indy Eleven vs Orange County SC - Final Score - Standings - June 22, 2024".
24. (June 25, 2024). "Morten Karlsen er Lyngbys nye cheftræner - Lyngby Boldklub".
25. "ORANGE COUNTY SC AND LYNGBY BK AGREE TO TERMS AS HEAD COACH MORTEN KARLSEN HEADS TO DENMARK".
26. "ORANGE COUNTY SC NAMES PAUL HARDYMAN HEAD COACH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON".
27. (August 29, 2024). "ORANGE COUNTY SC PARTS WAYS WITH HEAD COACH PAUL HARDYMAN".
28. Murray, Nicholas. (November 10, 2024). "Zach Zandi lifts Switchbacks to extra time victory against Orange County".
29. (October 8, 2023). "Orange County SC - City of Irvine - Great Park Championship Soccer Stadium Use Proposal".
30. (October 10, 2023). "Great Park Board Regular Meeting".
31. (July 21, 2022). "EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN ORANGE COUNTY SC VISITS LOS DOS".
32. Calhoun, Damian. (August 8, 2022). "Irvine City Council's plans to discuss use of Championship Soccer Stadium moved off of agenda". The Orange County Register.
33. lagalaxy. "LA Galaxy II To Join MLS NEXT Pro Beginning In 2023 {{!}} LA Galaxy".
34. Rodriguez, Alicia. (December 6, 2021). "LA Galaxy to enter MLS Next Pro league in 2023".
35. "Home {{!}} County Line Coalition".
36. "Supporters Groups".
37. "Supporter Chants".
38. "EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE ORANGE COUNTY SC HOSTS SAN ANTONIO".
39. Turner, Andrew. (August 13, 2022). "City of Irvine considering options for future use of Championship Soccer Stadium".
40. "Roster". Orange County Soccer Club.
41. "Front Office". Orange County Soccer Club.