Orange County SC 2018 Player Postmortem: Darwin Jones

Darwin Jones signed with Orange County SC in July to help boost the team’s attack. The forward/winger, who turned pro as a Homegrown signing of the Seattle Sounders, bounced around after being let go by the MLS side. He played in USL for the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and then spent a few months in Sweden playing for second-tier side IFK Varnamo before joining Orange County SC.

Jones was joining an Orange County side that was in the midst of a good season, but he caught on right away, and became a regular in Braeden Cloutier’s side, playing as a winger.

I think a sign that Jones was really in a good spot with his new team came from his starting all of Orange County’s playoff games. He assisted OCSC’s final goal in their romp over Saint Louis FC, keeping things rolling on a true team buildup for Mats Bjurman to finish.

Jones’ best game came in August against Swope Park Rangers, when he scored his two goals in the season in a 2-1 win.

And as he helped Orange County to their best season in team history, the team and player appear to enjoy what they have going, as Jones was announced this week to be returning for the 2019 season.

It makes plenty of sense, too. I don’t know that he can be counted on to score a bunch, but to help build up in the attack, do some defending out wide, and chip in with the occasional goal, and if there are other productive attackers around, that’s a needed role.

So it looks like Jones will be able to build on a decent half-season with Orange County next year. We’ll see what the future holds.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!