With their home opener approaching, we spoke to the familiar faces building a squad set to compete for the Championship in the second tier of US soccer.
Based in Irvine, a town in the Californian region that lends it’s name to the club, Orange County SC is the current home of two ex-pros hardened in the Premier League and EFL; Head Coach Richard Chaplow and his newly appointed assistant, the former Welsh international striker and hat-trick specialist Robert Earnshaw.
Speaking to FotMob.com whilst flanked by the club’s first USL Championship trophy (won in 2021) and in front of a stunning backdrop looking out across a sun-kissed skyline, Earnshaw describes his decision to join Chaplow’s staff. Almost, but failing to keep a straight face.
“As you can see it’s horrible here.”
“But listen, the USL is a very good league, it’s always progressing every year and the standard of the players is getting better. It’s always been competitive and it continues to be. And this is what we’re here for, we’re here for that challenge.”
Chaplow, who played over 300 games for the likes of Burnley, West Brom and Southampton made the same call much earlier in the club’s rise, joining first as a player in 2016 before working as assistant coach and then stepping up to Head Coach after the dismissal of Braeden Cloutier last August.
Orange County never looked back, losing just three games from September onwards as they finished second in their division before going on to win the Western Conference in a post-season campaign that culminated with victory in the Championship Final, away at the much-fancied Tampa Bay Rowdies.
“Obviously last year was a difficult season for many reasons off and on the field due to the situation everyone’s been through with the pandemic, but I think to go through that, it really built a tight-knit group within the locker room and that served us very well. Going in to the play-offs we had a mindset and a mentality about the group that we felt that we could overcome what was in front of us.”
The club formed in 1998 under the original name of Los Angeles Blues but following a change of ownership in 2017 rebranded to better represent the community they seek to represent, moving to their current home in the same year. As part of their continued growth, Orange County agreed a partnership with Glasgow Rangers in 2020 with a focus on player development and opportunities to move between the clubs.
Chaplow’s affection for the place that he’s come to call home is clear.
“I’ve been on some journey with this club, coming over six years ago. It was somewhere where first and foremost I could see myself settling with my family and then the project was really the thing that interested me the most, because what we see here today wasn’t here, but that was the vision.”
“Obviously what we achieved last season was something special, we know that having been in the game for many years. So to achieve that so early on in our existence, to achieve that as a coach so early on in my Head Coach tenure, it was a special moment and something I’ll cherish and look to build on this season.”
One of the success stories from the side that won the title last year was 17-year-old centre-back Kobi Henry. Having broken in to the side at 16, he has already gone on to captain the USMNT at under-20 level and even spent time at a training camp for the full national side in December – the first player in USL history to receive that call-up.
“It’s been unreal to be honest, it’s been so great to move up the ranks and establish myself at a club level and on a national level. Playing next to the same guys I’ve grown up seeing on TV was a great personal moment for me.”
Also in defence last year was the experienced head of Michael Orozco, himself a former USMNT international. Now 36, Orozco played almost every minute of every game in Orange County’s run to the title and alongside Henry, was another player Chaplow was keen on retaining for the new season.
“Ultimately those guys worked fantastically well for us last season, we still have a lot of faith and belief in those players. We’ve tried to recruit wisely but also bring a lot of the old players back from last season on the roster because it’s important to have that continuity.”
Chaplow’s intention to recruit well appears to be paying off, a task presumably made easier with the club’s status as defending champions.
Amongst the players coming in are Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres – a former Mexican international who’s previous clubs include Chivas and Atlanta United, Albi Skendi who’s moved from English football, and midfielder Daniel Pedersen. After a career spent in the Danish and Norwegian top flights, Pedersen has swapped Brann, the club based in FotMob’s home city of Bergen and famed for its annual rainfall, for the Californian sun.
With Chaplow and Earnshaw at the helm and Orange County’s ambitious project it’s easy to see why, as Earnshaw concludes.
“The aim for us is to be the best that we can and keep pressing forward. We have good players and with Rich as Head Coach we’ll continue to progress where we are. It’s great for me to be sat here next to him, to help support him, to help support the club. We’re going for the Championship.”
To keep track of OCSC’s progress this season, follow the club on FotMob. And if you want to learn more about the USL Championship, add the league to your match feed here.
Images provided, with thanks to the Orange County Soccer Club