After defeating the Oakland Roots on Nov. 13, Orange County Soccer Club (15-7-10) will host San Antonio FC (14-10-8) in the 2021 USL Championship Playoffs Western Conference Final at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, CA on Saturday, November 20 at 7 p.m.
San Antonio, the second-place team from the Mountain Division, will come into the game after defeating San Diego Loyal SC 2-0 on Nov. 5 and the Rio Grande Valley FC 3-1 on Nov. 13. This will be San Antonio’s first trip to the Conference Final in the club’s six-year history.
The meeting between OCSC and San Antonio will be their first since July 20, 2019, when they played to a 0-0 draw at Championship Soccer Stadium. OCSC has an all-time record, 3-2-3, against their Texan foes. They last won against San Antonio in the 2018 USL Championship regular season, when current OCSC midfielder Thomas Enevoldsen scored a goal to secure the 3-0 victory on July 14, 2018.
This upcoming game will also be OCSC’s first appearance in the Conference Finals since 2018, when current head coach Richard Chaplow captained the team to a 2-1 loss against Phoenix Rising FC and current Chelsea legend Didier Drogba.
OCSC is currently on a seven-game win streak and has only conceded one goal in that span of time. They look to continue their streak on Saturday.
The game’s winner will take on the winner of the Eastern Conference Final matchup between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Louisville City FC for the USL Championship game on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m. EST.
OCSC will be holding a playoff tailgate party starting at 5 p.m. featuring $2 beers, live music, a kids’ carnival and more. Tickets for the game can be found online at orangecountysoccer.com/playoffs. The game will also be available for streaming on ESPN+.
James Huston is a Sports Staff Writer for the fall 2021 quarter. He can be reached at hustonj@uci.edu.
