SANTA ANA, Calif. – Ousmane Sylla scored the winner with three minutes to go as Orange County SC claimed a 3-2 victory against Oakland Roots SC at Santa Ana Stadium before a club-record crowd of 7,651 fans on Saturday night after a thrilling back-and-forth battle between the Western Conference rivals.
The sides exchanged early chances, but Orange County took the lead in the eighth minute when a short corner came to Chris Hegardt, who delivered a good cross from the left to pick out Nico Benalcázar for a powerful header home. Oakland created more opportunities as the half went on, though, and were rewarded five minutes before the break when a cross from the right by Bertin Jaquesson came all the way through to Wolfgang Prentice for a first-time shot that shot inside the left upright.
Jacquesson had a chance to put Oakland ahead in first-half stoppage time but shot wide of the left post, while he then hit the woodwork two minutes into the second half with a curling free kick from the top-left edge of the penalty area. OCSC regained the lead in the 50th minute, however, as an errant clearance by Oakland’s Raphael Spiegel was met by a first-time return from Stephen Kelly that found the right side of the net.
Oakland got back on level terms again in the 56th minute when Peter Wilson was played in behind the OCSC back line by a pass from Jesús de Vicente which allowed the 2025 Golden Boot winner to round the goalkeeper and record his sixth goal in the past four games. With time running out, however, Sylla powered home a volley from 16 yards after a long throw into the penalty area wasn’t cleanly cleared by the visitors, and while Roots had a late chance to level again as Alex Rando saved first from Tucker Lepley and then corralled the rebound off his own defender, the hosts saw out the result.
Takeaways
Orange County SC – The hosts welcomed a club-record crowd to its temporary home at Santa Ana Stadium as the United States Men’s National Team takes up residence at its home venue ahead of the World Cup and put on an opportunistic display to earn victory. Both Stephen Kelly and Ousmane Sylla were clinical with their second-half opportunities to snap a three-game winless run in the league.
Oakland Roots SC – Roots outshot their hosts, logging 20 shots overall, but proved the architects of their own downfall as a pair of missed clearances proved costly. There was plenty for Roots to like about its attacking display, but the side’s defense continues to leak goals, which is proving costly.