Forward becomes first OCSC player to take top scoring prize.
Orange County SC wrapped up the 2022 USL Championship regular season on Saturday with a 2-2 draw against San Antonio FC, and with the campaign in the books, OCSC forward Milan Iloski has officially clinched the 2022 Golden Boot award as the league’s top scorer.
With 22 goals this season, @orangecountysc‘s @milaniloski123 is your 2022 Golden Boot winner! pic.twitter.com/0nG7KRayk2
— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) October 16, 2022
Iloski scored 22 goals in 31 appearances this season for Orange County, breaking a club record for goals in a season and just beating out Memphis 901’s Philip Goodrum, who had 21 goals in league play. Iloski is the first player in club history to win the league Golden Boot.
“It is an incredible honor to have won the USL Golden Boot award,” Iloski said in a team statement. “I want to thank my teammates, coaches and the fans for always pushing me and helping me achieve this amazing award. I couldn’t have done it without all of you, and I’m forever grateful for the support I have received since arriving at OCSC.”
Iloski joined the club in the offseason, uniting with older brother Brian, who helped Orange County SC win the 2021 USL Championship title. In his third season as a professional, 2022 was certainly a career year for Milan, whose previous season high in scoring was last year, five goals in 18 appearances for Real Monarchs.
Rather remarkably, Iloski scored all 22 goals this year from the run of play, none from a free kick or penalty kick. He also scored every 118.1 minutes, with a shot conversion rate of 25%, a very high rate over the course of a season.
“We are delighted for Milan, it’s a fantastic achievement for him to win the golden boot and even more so because he achieved this with only goals from open play!” head coach Richard Chaplow said. “We knew when he joined us that he had a wealth of talent, and he has been able to unlock that due to his hard work and desire to improve both individually and for the team. We look forward to seeing what the future brings for Milan at Orange County as he continues to push on.”
Many congrats to Milan on the award! It’s probably not the last we’ll hear about his stellar season.
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