Milan Iloski arrived at Orange County Soccer Club with something to prove.
In his second season, he’s done just that and will soon be headed to Europe, joining FC Nordsjælland as the latest transfer by the Orange County Soccer Club. Iloski, 24, will remain with OCSC through the end of the season and join Nordsjaelland in January on a four-year contract.
“I wanted to get back to having fun and I was looking for a team that I could play a good part at,” he said, thinking back to when he signed with Orange County SC. “I was able to play with my brother (Brian) …I just wanted to get back to playing and enjoying it.”
Iloski’s soccer journey hit an early bump in the road. He left UCLA after three seasons and signed a Homegrown contract with MLS’ Real Salt Lake in 2020. He played in just two games in two seasons and his contract wasn’t renewed.
“I had an honest conversation with (RSL coach) Pablo Mastroeni, we didn’t see eye-to-eye and he told me that I needed to play games. I felt like I was good enough to play in MLS, but in the end I wasn’t happy and I was upset that I didn’t think I got a fair shot.”
That led to February 2022 when Iloski signed with Orange County SC. In his debut season, he scored 22 goals, setting a single-season club record, and earned the USL Championship Golden Boot Award. He was also the youngest player in USL Championship history to score 20 goals in a season.
He has 15 goals this season and is the second player in club history to record back-to-back double-digit goal seasons. He is Orange County’s record holder for most regular-season goals (34) and goals (38).
“I’m really excited for the rest of this season,” he said. “I decided to stay and play regular minutes and I’m happy to be at OC and continue this fight for the championship.”
Iloski is the sixth player since 2020 that Orange County SC has transferred to Europe. Most recently, Korede Osundina was sent to Feyenoord.
Iloski said he learned of the interest from Nordsjælland a “few months ago.”
“My agent approached me about it and asked if it was something I was interested in,” he said. “It was a no-brainer for me. I was able to do some research, watch a few games and it looked like an amazing opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
“I liked how they play, I thought I would be a great fit and I tracked their record of selling players. It’s a great league, high level, and my challenge will be finding a way into the team and playing as many minutes as I can.”
Before the move, Iloski hopes to lead Orange County SC to the postseason. OCSC is third place in the Western Conference (14-9-5, 47 points) and on a nine-game unbeaten streak. Up next is Friday’s home game against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
