Orange County Soccer Club drops match versus Sacramento Republic FC

Orange County Soccer Club surrendered two goals late, falling to host Sacramento Republic FC 2-1 on Wednesday at Papa Murphy’s Park.

Dariusz Formella tied the scored in the 79th minute, and Villyan Bijev provided the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute for Sacramento, which played a man short for much of the second half after Rodrigo Lopez was shown the red card in the 58th minute.

Sean “Ugo� Okoli put Orange County on top in the fifth minute with his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Orange County suffered its second consecutive loss after dropping a home match to L.A. Galaxy II by a score of 2-1 on Saturday. After beginning the season with a six-match unbeaten streak, Orange County now has just one victory over its past five contests.

The standings in Group B of the United Soccer League Championship have tightened. Phoenix Rising FC (7-2-2, 23 points) is in first place. Orange County (5-3-3, 18 points) and the L.A. Galaxy II (6-5-0, 18 points) are tied for second. The San Diego Loyal (4-4-4, 16 points) are in fourth, and Las Vegas Lights FC (2-5-3, nine points) is last. The top two teams in the group secure a playoff berth.

Four of the five remaining games for Orange County are on the road. The next is at San Diego on Sunday at 7 p.m.

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