Seattle Sounders FC 2 very nearly completed a three-goal comeback on Saturday evening against Orange County SC, but ultimately fell 4-3 at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif.
OC took a commanding 3-0 lead into halftime behind goals from Roy Meeus, an own goal from Christian Koontz and a tally from Carlos Alvarez.
Meeus put the hosts up 1-0 in the 10th minute on a penalty kick after S2 defender Brian Nana-Sinkam was whistled for a foul in the box. Koontz, who is a Sounders Academy U-15 player and made his S2 debut on Saturday, was the unfortunate recipient of a harsh deflection that doubled OC’s lead in the 18th minute. Alvarez finished the first-half barrage with a nifty finish that beat Tyler Miller in the 24th minute.
S2 responded quickly out of the gate in the second half, though. Nana-Sinkam headed in a corner kick from Zach Mathers just two minutes after halftime before Mathers cut S2’s deficit to one in the 72nd minute when he coolly slotted in a penalty kick.
Orange County pushed the lead back to two goals in the 80th minute after some solid build-up play ended with a Gustavo Villalobos goal, but it would only last seven minutes before Charles Renken unleashed a wicked left-footed strike that gave S2 one final chance to push for an equalizer.
S2 drops to 6-7-2 on the season. It will visit Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 next Saturday, July 1, at 3 p.m. PT.
