IRVINE, Calif. – Orange County SC, the last remaining USL team to play at home, kicked off its debut at Orange County Great Park in style on Saturday. OCSC built a three-goal cushion in the first half and rolled to a 4-0 victory against the LA Galaxy II in their I-405 Derby match. Jerry van Ewijk led the charge with two goals in a three-minute span, one of which was a converted penalty kick. Wuilito Fernandes contributed a second-half goal and the club benefited from an own goal in the first half. Orange County goalkeeper Charlie Lyon came up with three saves for the clean sheet as OCSC improved to 3-1-1 (10 points) overall while LA fell to 1-4-1 (4 points) overall and 0-3-0 on the road.

Scoring:
28’ – OC – Jerry van Ewijk (penalty)
31’ – OC – Jerry van Ewijk
34’ – OC – Alex Suarez (own goal)
59’ – OC – Wuilito Fernandes (Jerry van Ewijk)

• #OCvLA: Full match and Opta box score

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. Orange County’s Jerry van Ewijk tallied twice early and it never really was a question which team had the advantage in the attack Saturday. LA’s Ryo Fujii was called for a hand ball to lead to the game’s opening goal. Van Ewijk slotted inside the right of the frame, despite Galaxy II goalkeeper Eric Lopez anticipating correctly, to take a lead in the 28th minute. Van Ewijk then launched a 30-yard shot for his second goal three minutes later. The opportunity presented itself when Lopez headed the ball forward as he left the box. Unfortunately for LA, Van Ewijk was the first upon it, and with an open net, Van Ewijk struck from deep, just getting the ball underneath the crossbar.

• 2. It was way back in November of 2014 with the LA Galaxy II signed their Academy goalkeeper Eric Lopez to a USL contract, as the then-15-year-old began his professional tenure. He has had to wait patiently, eventually making his first Los Dos appearance as a second-half sub during the 2016 season against Orange County. On Saturday, Lopez (now 18 years old) finally earned his first USL start. Needless to say, he shouldered a heavy burden against an Orange County side that generated a number of chances throughout the match. 

• 3. With all this offense, it almost felt like an afterthought that all of this was generated without Duke Lacroix, who had to leave in the opening 20 minutes with a potential knee injury. Wuilito Fernandes was his replacement, and Fernandes helped fill the void with a goal in the second half as he cut around Lopez for a 4-0 cushion.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Jerry van Ewijk, Orange County SC – Van Ewijk tallied twice and assisted a second-half goal to lead a powerful performance from Orange County’s attack.

Upcoming Games:
Orange County SC at Tulsa Roughnecks FC – May 13, 8 p.m. ET, ONEOK Field
LA Galaxy II vs. Real Monarchs SLC – May 10, 10:30 p.m. ET, StubHub Track & Field Stadium