IRVINE, Calif.-Aleksandar Vukovic secured the US Open Cup Round 2 victory over Orange County Soccer Club with a flying header in an intense 1-2 win at Championship Stadium with both teams racking up a total of 16 yellow cards.
Within the first ten minutes of the game, it was a battle for possession with Phoenix being the victor and their 58% total but Orange County made sure it would not be forgiven as Banzini took charge in the 14th minute and took a long shot from outside the box but was saved by Phoenix’s keeper Patrick Rakovsky as the crowd found a reason to finally make some noise.
The frustration of the absence of a goal got to the players of Orange County as OCSC left back Kevin Partida unleashed an aggressive slide tackle from behind, swiping Rising’s Juan Carvajal off his feet in the 25th minute.
As the uneventful half progressed, a catastrophic mistake would later change the momentum of the game. OCSC keeper Alex Rando was stepping up to clear the ball from a back pass from Efren Solis but in an instant, Rando missed his kick, giving Phoenix Striker Gunnar Studenhofft an easy set up to take the runaway ball right in front of the net and he confidently tapped it in with his right foot, making it a 0-1 Phoenix lead at the 35th minute and later concluding the first half with 3 shots and the goal being the only one on target.
Phoenix opened the second half with spending the first ten minutes in County’s final third and created many dangerous chances which had County fans screaming for the defense to step up and stop the attacking plays coming from Rising.
The Rising, once again was given a chance on goal in the 76th minute after a lost ball from a deflection within the box made its way closer to the net, granting Phoenix’s Ihsan Sacko a point blank range shot but County keeper Alex Rando made an effort to redeem himself with a courageous save right at the heart of the shot and blocking the dangerous chance.
As the scene did not look good for County, OCSC midfielder Ousmane Sylla made history repeat itself and took the ball from a Phoenix tackle in the box and swiftly took on three Phoenix defenders and got perfect angle to score a right footed shot and equalized the game for the regular 90 minute period, sending them to extra time just like he equalized against AV Alta FC in the same tournament back in 2025.
The excitement was short lived after the 96th minute in the first half of extra time came around and Rising defender Aleksandar Vukovic jumped ahead of OCSC defenders and headered the leading goal into the right side of the net from a corner, resuming Phoenix’s lead, 1-2.
Towards the end of the first extra half, the game racked up its 14th yellow card with the latest one being Orange County assistant coach Didier Crettenand. Unsurprisingly, that would not be the last yellow of the match.
Despite Sylla’s last minute curling shot in the 120th minute which just missed the inside of the net, County could not convert, regardless of County’s dominant performance according to OCSC head coach Danny Stone. “We deserved to come out with the victory. I felt like we probably were the better team in the game for the long spell,” Stone concluded. This game crowned Phoenix the winner of the second round of the US Open Cup and broke County’s unbeaten streak. Final Score, 1-2, Phoenix.
Article by Henry Caceres
Photos by Danielle Rivera
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