Orange County SC to face FC Golden State Force in U.S. Open Cup

The first round of the 2017 U.S. Open Cup kicked off this week, and now the first local pro team to jump into the fray, Orange County SC, know who they will play in the second round next week.

PDL side FC Golden State Force defeated Outbreak FC 2-0 on Wednesday to advance. That means Golden State Force will host Orange County SC at Citrus College in Glendora next Wednesday, May 17, in the Open Cup.

The tournament, the oldest continual soccer competition in the United States, is a single elimination tournament. Orange County have not been successful in this competition in recent years, with their last win in the Open Cup coming in 2013. Add to this some fixture congestion, with separate trips to Oklahoma this weekend and next for USL league games bracketing the local road game in the USOC, and this absolutely cannot be considered a gimme.

At the same time, here’s hoping Orange County take this competition seriously, since a cup run can be fun. We’ll see.

One positive development from the first round of the tournament this year: More games were streamed this week than ever before. Does that mean next week’s game will be streamed? That’s unknown and likely won’t be revealed until the day of the game. Your best bet to watch is to attend the game in person, but if it will be streamed we’ll be sure to pass the word along.

And if OCSC beat Golden State Force to advance to the third round? Then they would take on the winner of the LA Wolves FC vs. Chula Vista FC winner, so they’re guaranteed to stay local for that game, even if they don’t host it. But first, they’ve got a must-win game next week ahead of them.

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