Toreros hold off Orange County in Friendly Match

USD beats professional soccer team Orange County Soccer Club by a score of 1-0

Eric Boose | Contributor | The USD Vista

The Torero men’s soccer team played their first match since November on Saturday, a preseason friendly game against Orange County Soccer Club of the United Soccer League (USL). The Toreros got the better of the professional team in a hard-fought win, 1-0. 

The visitors from Irvine came to San Diego on the heels of a 4-2 win against California State University, Fullerton three days earlier. The Toreros had not won a game since defeating UCLA 3-1 on “Seamus McFadden Night” — Oct. 22. The Toreros were also without the seniors who played in the fall, including midfielder Leon Mueller-Wiesen (who watched from the stands) and goalkeeper Thomas Olsen, who was recently drafted by the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (MLS) in January. Orange County featured a former Torero – midfielder Christian Duke (‘12) who began his career with Sporting Kansas City in the MLS.

The game started with both sides fitting the expectations that come with a college team facing off against a professional club. Orange County — nicknamed the Blues — began the game on the front foot, pressing the Toreros’ defensive line. Midfielder Paul Ramlow said that Orange County had a good mental game. 

“They have a good philosophy of soccer,” Ramlow said. “We had some problems keeping the ball, and I think it was a good opponent for us to defeat.” The Blues gained some early scoring chances thanks to defensive errors, but sophomore defender Henry Lander and sophomore goalkeeper Connor Hountalas each denied the visitors on multiple occasions. 

As Orange County struggled to finish their chances, the Toreros began to find ways through the visitors’ defense. First-year winger Reuben Dass used his speed to create multiple chances for the Toreros from the right-hand side of the field. Halfway through the first half, the match opened up, with both teams playing well when in possession of the ball and counter-attacking after winning it back. For all of the chances both teams had in the first half, the first 45 minutes of play ended with the score tied 0-0.

At the beginning of the second half, the momentum was clearly with the Toreros. Both teams made wholesale changes at halftime, and San Diego’s replacements caused problems for the Blues’ defense. The Toreros’ created a few early chances, but struggled to get shots on goal, with long balls from Lander and first-year defender Aaron Frey sailing just over the first-year forwards Allen Luhrs and Ernesto Truqui. The hosts finally broke the deadlock about five minutes into the second half through junior midfielder Gustav Brandt. Orange County’s goalkeeper kept the ball at his feet too long, and Brandt poked the ball away and into the back of the net.

After Brandt’s goal, the match leveled back out, with the Blues pushing for an equalizing goal. Around 65 minutes into the match, fatigue appeared to set in for players on both teams. Orange County created more scoring opportunities as the match continued into its closing stages, with the visitors getting shots on goal thanks to corner kicks and free kicks.

As Orange County committed more players forward looking for an equalizing goal, the Toreros were gifted more chances to score on breakaways. The Blues’ goalkeeper received a yellow card for taking down Truqui around 40 yards from goal, as the first-year had nothing but grass between himself and the net. Truqui got another chance around five minutes later, as he received the ball with just the goalkeeper to beat, but Truqui’s shot rolled just wide. The Toreros survived a late flurry of shots thanks to Lander and first-year goalkeeper Matt Wiher to hold on to the 1-0 lead

The Toreros’ win on Saturday is their second against Orange County SC, as USD defeated the USL team 4-0 two years ago. The game offered USD players experience against professional players, as well as an opportunity to get on the field and play a full game amid spring training. Ramlow, who was playing in his first ever match for the Toreros, said that he enjoyed it. 

“It was special for me. Our focus was to play our game and to have a little bit of practice.”

The matchup against Orange County Soccer Club proved to be a positive one for the Toreros, as they continue to prepare for the fall NCAA soccer season.