Irvine City News
  • Home
  • SPECIAL REPORT
  • PUBLISHER'S NOTE
  • FEATURE
  • BUSINESS
  • CITY
    • AROUND TOWN
  • COMMUNITY
  • OPINION
  • LIFE
    • EDUCATION
    • SPORTS
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • RECREATION
    • DINING
    • TOP 10
  • About
    • PICK UP A PRINT COPY
    • COMMENT POLICY
    • Contact
    • ADVERTISE

Orange County Great Park Sports Park

10/22/2018

0 Comments

 

Soccer Stars at the Great Park Sports Park

Picture
THE FIRST NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD IN IRVINE THIS MONTH.
By Irvine City News staff
Some of the best male athletes from small colleges and universities around the country will be in Irvine for the 2018 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship. Sixteen teams will compete at the FivePoint Championship Soccer Stadium at the Orange County Great Park Sports Park beginning Nov. 26.  

The soccer tournament is the first NAIA Championship to be held in Irvine. California has hosted the men’s soccer championship four previous times: in Pasadena in 1976 and in Fresno in 1984, 2008 and 2009. The tournament will come to Irvine in 2019. 

It’s the 60th anniversary of the NAIA Championship Soccer Tournament. It was held in Palm Beach County, Florida, the past four years. 

“This is a true community effort; the support of the city of Irvine, its new Orange County Great Park Sports Complex and our hotel partners made it possible for our Destination Irvine sales team to secure the 2018 and 2019 NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships for Irvine,” said Bryan Starr, president/CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce, Irvine Economic Development and Destination Irvine. “The new Sports Complex gives Irvine a new level of competitiveness that we can leverage to attract sporting events of this caliber.”  

The NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship brings a large economic impact to the host community, according to Destination Irvine, the travel and tourism marketing arm of Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce. The potential economic impact the championships could have in Irvine is estimated at more than $192,000 per year, totaling more than $384,000 for both years.  

Each year more than 65,000 NAIA student-athletes play college sports, earn over $600 million in scholarships, and compete for a chance to participate in 26 national championships. 

“We are excited to start a new chapter with men’s soccer in Irvine, California,” said Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO. “Our team is eager to work alongside the Golden State Athletic Conference to make this championship event memorable for our student-athletes.” 

The tournament is co-hosted by the Golden State Athletic Conference, which includes schools from California and Arizona, including O.C.’s Vanguard University in Costa Mesa and Hope International University in Fullerton. 

“On behalf of the nine universities of the Golden State Athletic Conference, we are thrilled to bring this NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship to Orange County,” said Mike Daniels, commissioner of the Golden State Athletic Conference. “The partnership with Destination Irvine, the city of Irvine and the Orange County Great Park will ensure the 16 teams traveling to Irvine will have a memorable experience as they compete for the national title.” 

In addition to the tournament matches, events planned during championship week including Opening Night Banquet, presented by Hoag (Sunday, Nov. 25), Soccer Club Night (Monday, Nov. 26), IUSD Night (Tuesday, Nov. 27), AYSO Night (Wednesday, Nov. 28) and Special Olympics Day (Thursday, Nov. 29).  

The NAIA and GSAC will also honor two of its former national champions on Saturday, Dec. 1 as the 1972 Westmont College National Champions and 2007 Azusa Pacific National Champions will be honored prior to the start of the game. 

Ticket prices start at $15 for adults for the first three days and $20 for the semifinals and championship days. High school students and younger will be able to get $10 tickets throughout the tournament.  
 
Tickets: www.gsacsports.org/NAIA_MSOC_18 ​
0 Comments

SEATON’S HAT TRICK PROPELS ORANGE COUNTY PAST SAINT LOUIS

10/21/2018

0 Comments

 

SEATON’S HAT TRICK PROPELS ORANGE COUNTY PAST SAINT LOUIS

Jamaican forward nets three goals in playoff debut to lead West’s top seed to comfortable 4-0 victory
Picture
Michael Seaton scored a hat trick as No. 1-seed Orange County SC cruised to a 4-0 victory against No. 8-seed Saint Louis FC in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2018 USL Cup Playoffs on Saturday night at Champions Soccer Stadium at OC Great Park.

Mats Bjurman also scored for the hosts, who took full advantage of their man-advantage after an early red card was shown to Saint Louis midfielder Tony Walls. Orange County will host No. 5-seed Reno 1868 FC in the Western Conference Semifinals next Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. ET.

The hosts got off to the perfect start in the 11th minute when they capitalized on a wayward pass from Saint Louis center back Sean Reynolds. Seaton intercepted the ball inside the attacking third and Thomas Enevoldsen picked it up before slididing a return pass that narrowly avoided a defender on its way to back to the 22-year-old Jamaican, who made no mistake slotting the ball past Tomas Gomez and into the bottom-right corner.

Things got even worse for Saint Louis 11 minutes later as the side was reduced to ten men after Tony Walls was shown a red card by referee Ramy Touchan for verbal remarks towards Seaton, who had clattered through the back of the midfielder with a clumsy challenge.

The hosts pushed to double their advantage after the sending off and nearly did so in the 25th minute as another Saint Louis giveaway led to Bjurman running in on goal, but Gomez was quick off his line to cut down the angle and parry Bjurman’s shot to safety. The goalkeeper was picking the ball out of his own net four minutes later though, as he came to claim Kevin Alston’s cross from the right but was beaten in the air by Seaton, who headed home into an empty net to give OCSC a 2-0 lead.

Saint Louis kept the deficit at two going into halftime as Gomez did well to dive across his goal and get a hand on Darwin Jones’ right-footed drive from distance in the 34th minute. The visitors thought they had a claim for a penalty a quarter of an hour after the break as OCSC goalkeeper Andre Rawls clattered into the back of Joey Calistri as he went to punch a cross clear and the referee whistled for a free kick against the STLFC midfielder.  

Seaton rounded out his hat trick in the 64th minutes as Aodhan Quinn dribbled to the endline and squared a pass across the face of goal for the forward to tap home from close range. Orange County added a fourth two minutes later as Bjurman finished off an impressive passing move with a curling right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area that found the top-right corner.

Gomez managed to prevent things from getting worse for the visitors in the 82nd minute as the goalkeeper denied Jones’ right-footed shot from a tight angle, but it didn’t matter as Orange County had already done enough to secure a spot in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Scoring:
11’ – OC – Michael Seaton (Thomas Enevoldsen)
29’ – OC – Michael Seaton (Kevin Alston)
64’ – OC – Michael Seaton (Aodhan Quinn)
66’ – OC – Mats Bjurman (Darwin Jones)

#OCvSTL: Full Match and Opta Box Score

THREE THINGS THAT MATTER:
  • 1. Orange County SC forward Michael Seaton scored on all three of his shots on target to record a hat trick in his USL Cup Playoffs debut and bring his tally for the season up to 15 goals. Seaton's hat trick is the first of his USL career and just the fourth all-time in the USL Cup Playoffs, following Dom Dwyer (Orlando, 2013, USL Cup), Rodrigo Lopez (Sacramento, 2014, Semifinals), and Brandon Allen (New York, 2016, USL Cup).
  • 2. Orange County continued its unbeaten record when scoring first this year, but finally pulled out a victory over a Saint Louis side that had given it plenty of trouble during the regular season. OCSC led in each of the sides’ two meetings, but STLFC had twice battled back to earn results – a 1-1 draw in May and a 2-2 draw in July. Given the benefit of playing with an extra man for over an hour, the home side had no trouble putting away its opponent this time around as it booked its place in the Western Conference Semifinals.
  • 3. Saint Louis’ first trip to the USL Cup Playoffs ended in disappointing fashion as the side was unable to work its way into the game after the early red card. Injuries to leading-scorer Kyle Greig and midfielder Wal Fall, which kept the pair out of the lineup, were already going to make it difficult for the visitors to get a victory against the West’s top seed but playing from behind with ten men made that challenge even more insurmountable. The disappointment might linger for STLFC, but there’s clearly an incredibly bright future ahead for the club as it moves into 2019.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match
Michael Seaton, Orange County SC – Seaton created four chances and converted all three of his shots on target to record his first career USL hat trick and lead Orange County SC into the Western Conference Semifinals.
​

Upcoming Games:
Western Conference Semifinals – Orange County SC vs. Reno 1868 FC, Saturday, October 27, 10:00 p.m. ET, Champions Soccer Stadium at OC Great Park
0 Comments

October 15th, 2018

10/15/2018

0 Comments

 

SEASON FINALE: ORANGE COUNTY SC ARE THE 2018 USL WESTERN CONFERENCE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONS

Orange County SC Locks Down Home Field Advantage With Top Seed
​in Western Conference
Picture
Orange County SC ends their record-breaking regular season with a 3-1 loss to Reno 1868 FC at Greater Nevada Field. But, despite the result, OC become the USL’s 2018 Western Conference regular season champions. They secure home-field advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs with Phoenix Rising FC loss to T2 in Arizona on Saturday night.

The hosts opened the scoring at the quarter-hour mark when defender Brenton Griffiths headed the ball past OC goalkeeper Andre Rawls off of a corner kick. The two sides would each have chances, but the score remained 1-0 as the match approached halftime. RIght before the break, forward Antoine Hoppenot doubled Reno’s lead.

Desperate for a score, Orange County SC got a response from their go-to goal scorer. Forward Thomas Enevoldsen scored his 20th goal of the season, set up by midfielder Aodhan Quinn. The Danish striker beat Matt Bersano with a far-post shot from just outside the area.

Unfortunately, Hoppenot would strike again and seal the game for 1868 FC in the 63rd minute. Possession ended virtually 50-50 and each club had 18 shots, Reno with an edge of shots on goal, 6-4.

Orange County SC will have to wait until Sunday to find out who their first round opponent will be after the Swope Park Rangers and LA Galaxy II match. Depending on that result, OC could host Saint Louis FC, but more likely to be either San Antonio FC or Swope Park at Championship Soccer Stadium in the first round of the USL Cup playoffs.
​

Stat Highlights:
- Enevoldsen finishes second in the USL’s Golden Boot with 20 goals, five behind Louisville City FC’s Cameron Lancaster.
- Quinn’s 14th assist of the season puts him second in the league. He currently moves to first in the USL with 103 chances created.
- In his final USL regular season match, midfielder Richard Chaplow connected on 86% of his 58 passes.
- Orange County SC end the 2018 regular season with new club records in wins and point
0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

Irvine City News

Mailing Address
5319 University Dr.
Suite 440
Irvine, CA 92612

Contacts

Jacob Levy, Editor and Publisher / editor@irvinecitynews.com
Advertising / ads@irvinecitynews.com  /  949.296.8338
Terms of Use
© COPYRIGHT 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • SPECIAL REPORT
  • PUBLISHER'S NOTE
  • FEATURE
  • BUSINESS
  • CITY
    • AROUND TOWN
  • COMMUNITY
  • OPINION
  • LIFE
    • EDUCATION
    • SPORTS
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • RECREATION
    • DINING
    • TOP 10
  • About
    • PICK UP A PRINT COPY
    • COMMENT POLICY
    • Contact
    • ADVERTISE