Kickoff is at 5:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, November 28th at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL
ESPN & ESPN DEPORTES
Youtube: Live stream only available Internationally
SiriusXM FC (Channel #157)
Orange County: 15-10-7 (52 points, 2nd Pacific), Tampa Bay: 23-7-2 (71 points, 1st Atlantic)
Orange County: WWWWW, Tampa Bay: WWWWW
Western Conference Champion Orange County SC travels to Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Rowdies for the 2021 USL Championship Final on Sunday, November 28 at 5:30 PM PST at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, FL. The match will be televised on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and SiriusXM FC.
Orange County SC enters the championship match after winning the Western Conference title for the first time in club history.
Western Conference Quarterfinal | November 6
OCSC 1 - Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0 FT
Summary: 31’ Rob Kiernan red card, 45+1’ Ronaldo Damus goal
Western Conference Semifinal | November 13
OCSC 0 (6) - Oakland Roots SC 0 (5) AET+PK
Summary: OCSC advanced 6-5 on penalties
Western Conference Final | November 20
OCSC 1 (5) - San Antonio FC 1 (3) AET+PK
Summary: 39’ Ronaldo Damus goal, OCSC advanced 5-3 on penalties
Tampa Bay Rowdies defeated FC Tulsa, Birmingham Legion FC and Louisville City FC all at home to clinch their second consecutive Eastern Conference title.
Regular Season Overview
Record: 23-7-2 (Home: 13-2-1)
Goals Scored: 65 | Goals Conceded: 27
Clean Sheets: 16
Players to Watch
Sebastian Guenzatti #13 - leading goalscorer
Evan Louro #1 - 15 clean sheets
Home Venue
Al Lang Stadium (St. Petersburg, FL), opened in 1947
Capacity: 7,227
OCSC and Tampa have never faced each other in the USL Championship. This is OCSC’s first road match of the playoffs and just the second time the team travels to the East Coast this season.
2021 OCSC Away Record
8-5-3 (3-2-1 under Chaplow)
OCSC drew 0-0 with Charleston Battery in lone trip to East Coast in August
Storylines to Watch
OCSC head coach Richard Chaplow and Tampa head coach Neill Collins were teammates at Preston North End back in their playing days
First time the USL Championship Final will be held since 2019 after last season’s final was cancelled
OCSC and San Antonio FC drew 1-1 before their Western Conference Final was decided in a penalty shootout. OCSC won 5-3 in spot kicks and clinched their first conference title.
Three Takeaways
Forward Ronaldo Damus scored the opening goal in the first half off a long throw-in from defender Brent Richards
OCSC converted all five of their penalty kicks maintaining their perfect penalty conversion rate during the playoffs
OCSC once again broke their single-game attendance record with a crowd of 5,386 at Championship Soccer Stadium
OCSC Player Stats
Goal: Ronaldo Damus
Penalty Goals: Seth Casiple, Dillon Powers, Ben Mines, Thomas Enevoldsen, Ugo Okoli
Saves: Patrick Rakovsky (2)
OCSC Advanced Team Stats
Defense
Tackles: 32 (68.8% success rate) | Clearances: 20
The 2021 USL Championship season will come to a conclusion with a champion being crowned after the completion of the match between OCSC and Tampa.
IF OCSC win, then the 2021 USL Championship Final trophy will be heading to Orange County. It will be OCSC’s first league title in club history.