Orange County SC made an early second-half burst count, taking a 2-0 lead inside six minutes and holding on for a 2-1 win over Monterey Bay FC. The visitors were outplayed for long spells but showed clinical finishing to secure the victory.
Tom Brewitt opened the scoring in the 48th minute, then Nico Gordon doubled the lead three minutes later, assisted by Nicola Ciotta. Monterey Bay pushed hard and pulled one back through Ilijah Paul in the 88th minute, assisted by Nico Gordon, but could not find an equaliser.
The stats told a story of dominance without reward for Monterey Bay: they had 59% possession, 16 shots to Orange County's six, and forced five saves from the visiting goalkeeper. Orange County, however, created three big chances and took two of them, with Brewitt and Gordon both on target early in the half.
