Orange County SC raced out to a 2-0 lead in their home opener on Saturday, but Tulsa Roughnecks FC scored five unanswered goals en route to a 5-3 win at Championship Soccer Stadium.

It was Tulsa’s first road win of the season, after going the entire 2018 season without winning a road game.

It all started brightly for the hosts. Orange County took the lead in the 13th minute, as Darwin Jones’ low cross was flicked in by Kevin Alston, sliding towards the near post, with the ball trickling in over the line.

In the 45th minute, Orange County drew a penalty, courtesy of substitute Giovanni Ramos-Godoy, with Aodhan Quinn converting the spot kick to double the lead.

But Tulsa drew a penalty themselves just moments later, with Walker Hume judged to have handled the ball. Christhian Altamirano scored that penalty to make it 2-1 going into the halftime break.

The visitors then tied up the game in the 54th minute, as Janu Silva capitalized on a miscue from Orange County goalkeeper Carlos Lopez Cortez, and beat out Hume in a footrace to get to the ball and slot it in.

Darwin Jones nearly retook the lead around the 70th minute, as his header off Quinn’s terrific service went right in the corner of the post and clanged off.

But Tulsa took the lead themselves in the 74th minute, as Luca Lobo scored a header off a free kick, which Lopez Cortez couldn’t handle as it beat him. Lobo quickly grabbed another goal four minutes later to pad Tulsa’s lead, with another header off a set piece.

Fabian Bastidas came off the bench and added a goal of his own in the 80th minute to turn the win into a rout on the road.

Ramos-Godoy scored a consolation goal in second-half stoppage time for OCSC, but it wasn’t enough to really kick off a rally.

So Tulsa took a big win on the night, and exposed some real frailties in the back for Orange County. While I think Tulsa are improved compared to last year, Orange County just haven’t found full chemistry yet and are incorporating some new pieces. Add Michael Seaton missed this game, presumably due to injury, and they just couldn’t put it all together on the night.

The good news is there’s 32 more games left in the season. OC will aim for that first win of 2019 next Saturday when they host USL Championship expansion side New Mexico United.

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