Orange County Blues FC

For the USL Premier Development League team, see Orange County Blues U-23.
Orange County Blues FC
Full name Orange County Blues Football Club
Nickname(s) OC Blues FC
Founded 1998
(as Los Angeles Blues)
Stadium Anteater Stadium
Irvine, California
Ground Capacity 2,500
Owners James Keston
Coach Vacant
League USL
2016 8th, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Semifinals
Website Club home page

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

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

Players and staff

Current roster

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Cohen, JoshJosh Cohen      United States
2 Defender McCracken, JacksonJackson McCracken      United States
3 Defender Watson-Siriboe, KwameKwame Watson-Siriboe      United States
4 Midfielder Howe, GradyGrady Howe      United States
5 Midfielder Ilich, NikolaNikola Ilich      United States
6 Defender Pluntke, MauriceMaurice Pluntke      Germany
7 Forward Santana, ChristopherChristopher Santana      United States
8 Midfielder Cruz, PabloPablo Cruz      United States
9 Forward Caesar, TrevinTrevin Caesar      Trinidad and Tobago
10 Midfielder Chaplow, RichardRichard Chaplow      England
11 Forward Feeley, TylerTyler Feeley      Serbia
14 Forward Ajeakwa, AkwafeiAkwafei Ajeakwa      United States
15 Defender Felix, RyanRyan Felix      United States
18 Midfielder Stevanović, DušanDušan Stevanović      Serbia
20 Midfielder Cortes, OriolOriol Cortes      Spain
21 Midfielder Crettenand, DidierDidier Crettenand       Switzerland
22 Forward Karapetyan, GevorgGevorg Karapetyan      Armenia
23 Defender Griffiths, BrentonBrenton Griffiths      Jamaica
24 Midfielder Gray, A. J.A. J. Gray      Canada
25 Defender Purdy, SteveSteve Purdy      El Salvador
27 Forward Barouch, OrrOrr Barouch      Israel
28 Forward Rauhofer, MaxMax Rauhofer      Uruguay
33 Goalkeeper Miller, BrandonBrandon Miller      United States
37 Defender Meeus, RoyRoy Meeus      Belgium

Staff

Head coaches

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
2016 3 USL 8th, Western Conference Semifinals 2nd Round 1,010

Honors

United Soccer League

References

External links

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