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Orange County SC will attempt to extend their winning streak to five games as they welcome El Paso Locomotive FC to Orange County Great Park for the first time on Saturday night.
OCSC are flying high, in their best form of 2019 and trying to push up the table to book their ticket to the USL Championship playoffs, and things are still not yet assured with seven games left to play.
Case in point, El Paso sit below the playoff line in 11th place, but they are just three points behind Orange County, who are up in 6th place. As we’ve seen the past several weeks, this is a literal six-pointer!
When these teams met earlier this season in Texas, El Paso won 2-0 in March, behind an Edson Partida brace. Partida is second on the team in scoring, albeit with only four goals, with former U.S. Men’s National Team player Jerome Kiesewetter leading the squad with 11 goals in 17 appearances, a very good return.
While Kiesewetter didn’t play in that first meeting between the teams, Orange County’s lineup for that game was missing a host of key contributors through this recent hot stretch. All the games at this point in the season are important, but this could be a vital clash for the postseason prospects of both sides this year.
Tale of the Tape:
Orange County SC: 39 points (10-8-9), 6th place in Western Conference; Goal Difference: +7; Last five games: W-W-W-W-L
El Paso Locomotive FC: 36 points (9-8-9), 11th place in Western Conference; Goal Difference: +3; Last five games: W-D-L-W-L
How to Watch Orange County SC vs. El Paso Locomotive: The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm PT at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine. You can watch the stream only on ESPN+.
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