clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Orange County SC 2018 Player Postmortem: Giovanni Ramos-Godoy

Rookie became offensive impact sub for OCSC.

By Alicia Rodriguez
Liza Rosales / Liza Rosales Photography

Giovanni Ramos-Godoy was signed out of UC Irvine by Orange County SC for the 2018 season. The striker was getting his first pro deal, and on a team featuring plenty of roster churn like OCSC, the role of the Watsonville native on the squad was unclear heading into the season.

As it turned out, Ramos-Godoy was mostly a reserve, but he was a pretty important one, as he made by far the most substitute appearances for Braeden Cloutier’s side, being a regular off the bench for the team.

Ramos-Godoy 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 29 5 901 4 4 27 10 1 0
U.S. Open Cup 1 0 22 0 0 0 0 0 0
USL Playoffs 2 0 18 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 32 5 941 4 4 27 10 1 0

Considering he was almost always a sub, that Ramos-Godoy racked up four goals and four assists in under 1,000 minutes of play is pretty impressive, especially on a team as stacked as Orange County was.

The 23-year-old also showed he had real skill as a forward. Not merely the big guy who would tap in goals on the doorstep, he demonstrated some range:

In fact, he really showed he was deadly from distance, whether on the counterattack...

...or with a set block defending.

Ramos-Godoy also showed an ability to work with OC’s stars and produce, as his four assists attest.

The questions are whether he’ll be back for 2019, and if he is, if he’ll be in line for an increased role. Supersubs are a rare commodity in soccer, and he played that role extremely well. But can he be effective as a more regular starter? If Thomas Enevoldsen returned for 2019 (a very big if), the path to a starting role may be blocked, and I can imagine it’s fun to be a regular sub on a successful team. But pro athletes back themselves, and Ramos-Godoy would probably want to play more — it’s natural to seek that.

So we’ll see if he returns and if so, in what capacity. Ramos-Godoy didn’t get headlines for Orange County’s special season, but he played a useful role and helped seal win after win for the team in 2018. Not bad at all for a rookie season.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!

Next Up In USL