Orange County SC
| File:Orange County Blues logo.png | |||
| Full name | Orange County Blues Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | OC Blues FC | ||
| Founded | 1998 as Los Angeles Blues | ||
| Ground | Anteater Stadium Irvine, California | ||
| Capacity | 2,500 | ||
| Owners | Ali Mansouri Maryam Mansouri | ||
| Head Coach General Manager | Oliver Wyss | ||
| League | USL | ||
| 2015 | 1st, Western Conference Playoffs: Conference Semifinals | ||
| Website | http://www.ocbluesfc.com | ||
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Orange County Blues is an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in the United Soccer League, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The team plays its home games at Anteater Stadium on the campus of University of California, Irvine. The team's head coach is Oliver Wyss.
History
The then Los Angeles Blues was announced as a USL Pro expansion franchise on November 7, 2010[1] The team is associated with the United Soccer Leagues W-League team LA Blues, and is part of the larger Orange County Blues organization, which has competed in Los Angeles-area amateur leagues since 1998. They introduced their first three players—goalkeeper Oscar Dautt and midfielders Cesar Rivera and Josh Tudela—at a formal launch event on December 14, 2010.[2]
After an extensive pre-season, the Blues played their first games in the Caribbean over the weekend of April 15–17, 2011, a 3–0 victory over Sevilla Puerto Rico, and a 2–1 victory over Antigua Barracuda. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Cesar Rivera.[3]
In January 2012, the Blues announced the hiring of Steve Donner (formerly CEO of Orlando City) as vice president of business operations to focus on improving marketing for the club and to bring professionalism to the front-office.[4] The first game of the 2012 season reflected these efforts with a 2,432 attendance compared to 696 for the first home game in 2011 (the Blues averaged 382 during the 2011 season).
Colors and crest
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The inaugural Los Angeles Blues Soccer Club logo.
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LA Blues logo through the 2013 season.
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Orange County Blues logo (2014)
The Blues play in a combination of sky blue, dark blue and white. The club's logo features the blue of the California sky and the dark azure of the Pacific as the main characteristics, paying homage to its home region. The club's inaugural logo itself was a derivation of its sister club's logo from the Pali Blues.[5]
Stadium
- Titan Stadium; Fullerton, California (2011–2013)
- Anteater Stadium; Irvine, California (2014–present)
Players and staff
Current roster
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Josh Cohen |  United States
|
| 2 | DF | Jackson McCracken | United States
|
| 4 | MF | Grady Howe | United States
|
| 5 | MF | Nikola Ilich | United States
|
| 6 | DF | Maurice Pluntke |  Germany
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| 7 | FW | Christopher Santana | United States
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| 8 | MF | Christian Silva | United States
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| 9 | FW | Trevin Caesar |  Trinidad and Tobago
|
| 10 | MF | Pavle Popara |  Serbia
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| 11 | FW | Tyler Feeley | Serbia
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| 12 | DF | Andrae Campbell |  Jamaica
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| 14 | FW | Akwafei Ajeakwa | United States
|
| 15 | DF | Ryan Felix | United States
|
| 16 | MF | Mats Bjurman | United States
|
| 17 | MF | Verneri Välimaa (on loan from Tampa Bay Rowdies) |  Finland
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| 18 | MF | Dušan Stevanović | Serbia
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| 19 | MF | Ivan Mirković | Serbia
|
| 20 | MF | Oriol Cortes |  Spain
|
| 21 | MF | Didier Crettenand |  Switzerland
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| 22 | FW | Gevorg Karapetyan |  Armenia
|
| 23 | DF | Brenton Griffiths | Jamaica
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| 24 | FW | Joe Baccielo | United States
|
| 25 | DF | Steve Purdy |  El Salvador
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| 33 | GK | Brandon Miller | United States
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| 37 | DF | Roy Meeus |  Belgium
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Staff
Oliver Wyss – Head Coach and General Manager
Barry Venison – Technical Director
Braeden Cloutier – Assistant Coach- Victor Nogueira – Goalkeeping Coach
Claudio Trabattoni – Strength & Conditioning Coach- Chris Phillips – Athletic Trainer
Head coaches
- Charlie Naimo (2011–2012)
Jesus Rico-Sanz (2012–2013)
Dariush Yazdani (2013–2014)- Oliver Wyss (2014–)
Record
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Blues | ||||||
| 2011 | 3 | USL | 3rd, National | Divisional Semifinals | 3rd Round | 382 |
| 2012 | 3 | USL | 8th | Did not qualify | 2nd Round | 666 |
| 2013 | 3 | USL | 6th | Quarterfinals | 3rd Round | 542 |
| Orange County Blues | ||||||
| 2014 | 3 | USL | 13th | Did not qualify | 2nd Round | 760 |
| 2015 | 3 | USL | 1st, Western | Conference Semifinals | 4th Round | 1,398 |
Honors
- Western Conference (Regular Season)
- Winners : 2015
References
- ^ LA Blues Set to Play in USL PRO
- ^ Los Angeles Blues Sign First Three Players
- ^ http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/stats/2011/2175587.html
- ^ Scott French (13 April 2012). L.A. BLUES: Starting over, with a plan. ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- ^ Los Angeles Blues Officially Introduced
External links
| Men's |
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| Women's |
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| Youth |
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