TAMPA, Fla. – The USL Championship today announced Orange County SC’s Danny Stone had been awarded the Championship’s Coach of the Month award for October after his side recorded an undefeated final month of the regular season that pushed OCSC into the USL Championship Playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Stone joined Orange County SC as an assistant coach in early August having previously served as the Head Coach of Phoenix Rising FC over the first half of the season. On August 30 he was appointed interim Head Coach with nine games to play in the regular season, and subsequently led the side on an eight-game undefeated streak to close the campaign. In September, OCSC went 3-0-2 while only allowing three goals as it clinched a postseason berth with a game to spare, eventually taking the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference after a 3-2 victory against Hartford Athletic on the final day of the regular season.

“I’ve said it a few times in the last several weeks, the players have done exactly what we set out to do,” said Stone after his side’s victory against Hartford. “I’m very, very pleased and proud of them, and now we have to put that piece behind us, and we prepare and we recover and we get ready for whoever we face next weekend.”

Under Stone’s guidance, Orange County has posted a 7-1-2 record overall, recording seven shutouts in 10 games, including a 1-0 victory on the road against Memphis 901 FC last Saturday in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix. Orange County will face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ as they attempt to take the next step toward the second USL Championship title in club history.

Stone earned the award with 46 percent of the ballot. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Bob Lilley finished second on 38 percent after leading the Hounds to a perfect final month of the regular season that secured the club’s seventh consecutive trip to the postseason.

The USL Championship’s Coach of the Month award is voted upon by the USL Championship National Media Panel and the USL Championship Technical Committee, with each group responsible for 50 percent of the overall vote.