Blues open playoffs
The Orange County Blues FC opens the United Soccer League Western Conference playoffs on the road on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
The top-seeded Blues, who had an opening-round bye, play host to the No. 5 LA Galaxy II in the semifinals at StubHub Center in Carson, not at UC Irvine, where the Blues have called home all season. Orange County isn’t playing at Anteater Stadium because the UCI soccer teams play Big Western Conference matches at home this weekend, the men on Saturday against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. and the women on Sunday against UC Riverside at 1 p.m.
The Blues, who compete in a third-division professional soccer league in North America, had moved the semifinal to a high school stadium in Yorba Linda that could seat 4,000, but the USL decided against the venue, which featured artificial turf and not grass, and moved it to the stadium the LA Galaxy II plays it home matches.
The Blues and Galaxy II meet for the fifth time this year, Los Angeles leads the series, 2-1-1. Orange County has topped Los Angeles once in the rivalry, coming in a 2-1 win at Anteater Stadium on Sept. 5 that clinched a postseason berth.
Orange County, which won the Western Conference a year after finishing last, has performed well in home matches, going 9-3-2 this season. While the latest match is a considered a home one, it will mark the Blues’ first away from Anteater Stadium. Wherever the Blues and Galaxy II have played, Los Angeles has held the upper hand, winning six of the eight matchups.
Los Angeles knocked off defending USL champion Sacramento Republic FC, 1-0, on the road in a playoff opener last week. Forward Jack McBean, a former Corona de Mar High standout, drew a penalty kick in the first half that Bryan Olivera put away.
