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Orange County SC lost for just the second time this 2017 season on Saturday, but the margin of loss was once again heavy, as they fell 4-0 to the Tulsa Roughnecks in Oklahoma.
OCSC almost got on the board straightaway, but Wuilito Fernandes’ tally was called off on an apparent offside call within two minutes of kickoff. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a significant turning point for the visitors.
Juan Caffa opened the scoring for the Roughnecks in the 19th minute, just beating Orange County goalkeeper Charlie Lyon to the ball inside the far post on a free kick near the half moon. The Argentine has been impressive to start the season, and just having a free kick that close was dangerous.
Tulsa doubled their lead just three minutes later, courtesy of big striker Ian Svantesson, who ran onto a layoff and blasted it by Lyon. Lyon got a hand on it, but truth be told, he didn’t do quite enough to keep it out, and that one’s probably going to haunt him.
While the result was the same regardless, had OCSC walked out with a 2-0 loss they might have felt a bit better about the result, but they let in two goals late, as they pushed to equalize and narrowly missed the target again and again. Joey Calistri scored a counterattack goal in the 79th minute before Svantesson completed his brace two minutes later to ensure the rout for the hosts.
So, it wasn’t a good night for Orange County, and that trip to Oklahoma has not been kind to them in the past. It seems when they lose, they lose big, and this was just not their night. The bad news? Their next USL regular season game is also in Oklahoma, next Saturday against OKC Energy FC.
Before they get to that, however, they’ve got a game in the U.S. Open Cup here in Southern California against FC Golden State Force on Wednesday. Can that perk them up ahead of the trip back out east, or will their recent Open Cup futility continue? Stay tuned, as we’ll be sure to follow each step of the way.
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