# 2023 Orange County SC season

The 2023 Orange County SC season was the club's thirteenth season of existence, and their thirteenth consecutive season in the United Soccer League Championship, the second tier of American soccer.
Orange County had a tumultuous start, only winning one out of their first eight games with a 1-4-3 record, leading to the team firing head coach Richard Chaplow and promoting the newly hired assistant coach Morten Karlsen to interim head coach on May 1, 2023. Under new management, Orange County found form and finished the season on a three-game winning streak, going from 11th to 2nd place in the Western Conference, and having a final record of 17–11–6.
In the first round of the USL Championship playoffs, Orange County faced off against seventh seeded El Paso Locomotive FC at home, winning 1–0 with a goal from Forward Milan Iloski. In the semifinals, Orange County hosted 6th seed Phoenix Rising FC, losing 2–1 in extra time to the eventual champions.
This would be the last season that the team-leading goalscorer and All-League Second Team Iloski would play for Orange County, as after this season he made a transfer to FC Nordsjælland in the Danish Superliga in the January transfer window. Additionally, on November 10, appointed interim head coach Karlsen was signed to become the official head coach of Orange County.

## Roster

As of 13 June 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Colin Shutler (team captain) |
| 2 | DF | USA | Owen Lambe |
| 3 | DF | USA | Alex Villanueva |
| 5 | DF | USA | Dillon Powers |
| 7 | FW | USA | Cameron Dunbar (on loan from Minnesota United FC) |
| 7 | FW | USA | Milan Iloski |
| 8 | MF | USA | Seth Casiple |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Marc McNulty |
| 10 | MF | USA | Brian Iloski |
| 11 | FW | USA | Bryce Jamison |
| 14 | DF | NOR | Morten Bjørshol |
| 15 | MF | USA | Ashish Chattha |
| 16 | DF | USA | Brent Richards |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | USA | Kevin Partida |
| 21 | FW | CMR | Thomas Amang |
| 22 | DF | USA | Joseph Buckley |
| 23 | DF | NOR | Ryan Doghman |
| 24 | FW | USA | Benjamin Barjolo |
| 26 | MF | USA | Kyle Scott |
| 29 | GK | USA | Juan Santana |
| 30 | DF | NOR | Markus Nakkim |
| 32 | FW | USA | Nicolas Ruiz |
| 33 | DF | USA | Ashton Miles |
| 35 | MF | USA | Benjamin Norris |
| 36 | GK | USA | Fernando Aguirre |

### Technical Staff

| Role | Name |
| President of Soccer Operations & General Manager | Peter Nugent |
| Head Coach | Morten Karlsen |
| First Assistant Coach & IDP Manager | Paul Hardyman |
| Assistant Coach | Didier Crettenand |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Victor Nogueira |
| Performance Data Analyst | Amanda Preciado |
| Performance Consultant | Dan Guzman |
| Head Academy Scout | Shawn Beyer |
| Team Operations Coordinator | Mario Lemus |

## Competitions
### Exhibitions

Orange County, on January 31, announced six pre-season matches, with most matches being played against MLS Next and colligate teams behind closed doors.

### USL Championship
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sacramento Republic FC | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 51 | 26 | +25 | 64 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Orange County SC | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 57 | Playoffs |
| 3 | San Diego Loyal SC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 57 | Playoffs |
| 4 | San Antonio FC | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 56 | Playoffs |
| 5 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 53 | Playoffs |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: USL standings

#### Match results

Orange County announced their full season schedule on January 9, 2023.
All times in Pacific Time.

### U.S. Open Cup

As a member of the USL Championship, Orange County SC entered the tournament in the Second Round on April 5, 2023.