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Orange County SC 2018 Player Postmortem: Mark Segbers

On-loan winger provided energy while in OC.

By Alicia Rodriguez
Liza Rosales / Liza Rosales Photography

Mark Segbers joined Orange County SC on loan to begin his professional career. Drafted by the New England Revolution at No. 9 overall in January, the Wisconsin product was sent by Brad Friedel to Orange County to get used to the next level, and Braeden Cloutier happily took in the player.

Segbers was a regular for Orange County. Speedy out wide, he was certainly ready for USL level and played a terrific two-way game as a winger, linking up play while also getting back and pitching in on team defense. He wasn’t the focal point, but he was dynamic, hard-working and fit into his role just right.

Segbers OCSC 2018 statistics

2018 Games Played Games Started Minutes Goals Assists Shots SOG Yellow Cards Red Cards
2018 Games Played Games Started Minutes Goals Assists Shots SOG Yellow Cards Red Cards
USL Regular Season 19 15 1,187 2 3 8 4 3 0
U.S. Open Cup 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
USL Playoffs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 19 15 1,187 2 3 8 4 3 0

The highlight for his time with OCSC came in the 405 Derby, when he scored a brace during a 3-0 win in April:

I think Orange County would have been happy to keep Segbers around all season, but maybe on account of his strong play in USL, he was recalled by the Revolution, and he got his chance in the U.S. Open Cup, where he scored a goal against...yes, a USL opponent, albeit one that ended up beating the Revs in the game.

In league play, Segbers had to wait until almost the end of the season to get his debut in MLS, and Friedel decided to chuck him on as a right back. A quick aside, this is a time-worn tradition for New England, taking attacking players and just sticking them in as fullbacks. Of course, once in a while this move is a stroke of inspiration, and the Revs are far from the only team to try it, but the amount of times they play guys like Segbers out of position is pretty astounding.

At the end of the season, despite being recalled, Segbers’ contract option was denied by New England. He went through the Waiver Draft without being selected, too, which is good news for USL teams. I would expect if he doesn’t get an invitation to trial preseason with an MLS team in January, he’ll be a hot commodity among USL teams, and I don’t necessarily expect OCSC would have the inside track in getting him back. He strikes me as a player that 5-10 savvy USL teams have probably already called his agent, so with that kind of competition, the chance he’ll be back probably isn’t great.

That said, I was impressed with Segbers’ game, and while I’m not sure if he’s truly an MLS player, I don’t think he got a fair chance. I know he’s a capable USL player, the kind of guy who can help you win a title, and so I think he’s got plenty of games ahead of him in his career, at one level or another. We’ll see where he ends up.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

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