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Western Conf. Notebook — OCSC Finds Route to Victory

By CHRIS HOCKMAN - chris.hockman@uslsoccer.com, 04/16/18, 12:04PM EDT

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S2 boosted by comeback victory; Reno's Russell eyes shakeup to break winless streak


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

SAN ANTONIO – Orange County SC has made a phenomenal run to the top of the Western Conference standings, with its 3-0 victory against San Antonio FC on Saturday night at Toyota Field bringing the club's winning streak to four games, tied for the best in its history. 

The victory came thanks to a strong second-half performance, which generated the response Orange County Head Coach Braeden Cloutier had asked for at the halftime break after the hosts had carried much of the game. It continued a trend for OCSC, which has come about its victories through different means since opening the season with one point from its first two games.

“All four of the past games have been completely different and we found ways to win. Did we deserve to win after the first half?  Probably not, we were fortunate to [be at] zeros at halftime,” said Cloutier. “But the response after the halftime talk was brilliant. We knew we needed to compete better, so we rolled our sleeves up and we went out and won a completely different way.”

Key to the victory was a stunning performance from OCSC goalkeeper Andre Rawls, who made eight saves in keeping the clean sheet. With a strong San Antonio FC attack pressing hard throughout the contest, the New York City FC loanee was at his best to continue Orange County's current shutout streak.

“Andre hadn’t had to do much the past several games. We have four clean sheets in a row and tonight Andre showed exactly how good he is,” said Cloutier. “He stepped up in a game we needed him most. That’s what great goalkeepers do, keep teams in games that maybe aren’t going their way.”

Coming into the match in the 73rd minute forward Giovanni Ramos Godoy also made a significant impact, scoring the goal that put the icing on the as Orange County pulled away with two late goals to seal all three points. The substitution was a shrewd move from Cloutier, with Ramos Godoy’s fresh legs pushing SAFC as it pushed additional numbers into attack in search of an equalizer, which opened up space in defensively for Orange County to exploit when it got out on then counterattack.

“I told Godoy weeks ago to continue to train hard and that his opportunities would come. He works harder than anyone at training and has a great attitude,” said Cloutier. “We knew late in the game it would get stretched a bit and that he would get his chances. He’s another player that I am so proud of.”

COMEBACK BOOSTS S2: After opening the scoring through Felix Chenkam just 45 seconds into its match against Rio Grande Valley FC, things opened up well for Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Cheney Stadium on Saturday night, but it proved a prelude to a topsy-turvy game that saw both teams hold the lead as S2 first lost its advantage due to some disappointing defending, and then rebounded to take a 3-2 victory through Azriel Gonzalez's first professional goal with eight minutes to go.

“It wasn’t our greatest performance to start with. We made it tough for ourselves. We gave away a couple of sloppy goals in the first half,” said S2 Head Coach John Hutchinson. “We started a little bit slow in the second half, but once we got going and we started moving the ball around like we know we can, we did alright. It was a bit sloppy at times. They fought back. Azriel with his first pro goal, which is fantastic for him. And the comeback was a good performance.”

Gonzalez's goal ended up being S2's reward as the hosts pushed for a win to break a four-game losing streak. The U.S. U18 international made his first appearances for the side last season, coming up from the academy, and has been pushed along steadily since to try and move his talents to a higher level.

The landmark first goal was an exciting moment for the 16-year-old, who has recently helped the Sounders U18 Academy side take victory at the Generation adidas Cup's Premier Division 

“I’m excited, obviously. I’ve been trying to get my first goal since last season,” said Gonzalez. “And I’m just happy that I can contribute, and obviously, get the win today. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

S2 has been trying to produce the type of fightback it achieved against RGVFC all season but had been falling short until Saturday. While the disappointment of conceding and heading to halftime behind was there, it pushed the team on with a fighting spirit that will surely help as the season continues.

“They’re made of some stern stuff. We saw in Sacramento, down to nine men, they didn’t stop and we had a chance right at the end to snatch a draw. And I thought it would’ve been a deserved draw in Sacramento,” said Hutchinson. “Tonight they were 2-1 down, and you could see them kick on. They’re made of some strong stuff, and it’s good to see we’ve got some goodwill and some good fight with S2. Even though the performance wasn’t our greatest performance this season, to stick in there, get the points and send everyone home happy is a credit to the players.”

After snapping the club's four-game losing streak, the next step for S2 will be to build on its performance as it heads on the road this weekend to visit Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

“We’ve shown good spirit in a few weeks now, our second [win] here. We need to clean up a lot of our play. We need to make sure our passes are sticking, defend better as a unit from front to back. And then when we’re playing out from back to front, we need to keep the ball a bit easier, move it quicker,” said Hutchinson. “But we’re getting there. It’s a young bunch of guys that are working hard every day at training. And my main focus today is just how stern they were coming back from 2-1 down. It takes a big effort, especially from a lot of young guys, to get that result.”

SPOTS UP FOR GRABS IN RENO: It was a difficult night for Reno 1868 FC on Saturday as it fell 4-0 to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Greater Nevada Field, a result that equaled the widest margin of defeat in club history. But despite the loss Head Coach Ian Russell was determined to do the only thing there is to do, move forward and get better as the club looks for its first win of the season.

“The only positive is that we have a lot of spots up for grabs and this week of training should be good because everybody’s got a chance,” said Russell. “We have a lot of players, so a lot of guys are going to get some opportunities.”

The players echoed the sentiment, determined to get back to the training field this week and prepare for a road trip to take on the Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday.

“Practice makes perfect out of this,” said midfielder Lindo Mfeka. “Defending our box is the main thing we need to work on, as well as taking our chances.”

Chances were there for Reno against the Switchbacks, with the hosts registering 18 shots of which six ended on target. On another night the side might have found a goal from all of that effort. With 57.2 percent possession, Reno had plenty of the ball, which is a promising sign going forward, but the Switchbacks clinical finishing as they swept to victory proved the difference as Reno dropped to an 0-3-1 start for a second consecutive season.

“Antoine [Hoppenot] had a great chance to tie it. Normally he scores those, but it’s kind of been what’s happening right now and we got to fix it,” said Russell. “We have to move on and watch the film.”

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