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Another Home Opener Not Daunting for Arizona United SC

April 8, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Arizona United Soccer Club heads back on the road this weekend for a match up against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Saturday, April 9, at 12:30 p.m. It will be the third home opener Arizona United SC will play in during their five-mach road trip to start the season. They lost their previous two to LA Galaxy II and Sacramento Republic FC.

But, despite the challenge of having to be the opponent for someone else's home opener, Arizona United SC head coach Frank Yallop doesn't see it as an excuse.

"It's never easy," Yallop said. "But we knew from the start that it was going to be a tough first five games away from home. ... It is what it is. We have one win from three games so far. I'm looking at trying to get a win and a tie out of the next two."

Yallop later said he was satisfied with the team's performance last week in Sacramento, a home opener Arizona United SC lost, 1-0.

"I didn't feel we deserved to win the game," said Yallop of last Saturday's match. "But I thought the way we fought and defended and tried our best to keep a very good team, in a home opener, out of the box and out of the goal-scoring opportunities - we did a pretty good job of that."

This week, Arizona United SC had some time to spend at home before heading back out on the road (last week, the team traveled to Seattle on Tuesday, then flew from Seattle to Sacramento for their match on Saturday). After this week's training sessions, Yallop believes the club is recharged for Saturday's match.

"We're going to go in there with a great attitude and do what we've tried to do in every game we've played," Yallop said. "Try and score first if possible. Try to make sure that we're nice and tight along the back and don't give many chances to the opposition."

Arizona United SC squares off against Colorado Switchbacks FC on Saturday, April 9 at 12:30 p.m. The live stream of the match will be available at ArizonaUnited.com

Scouting Report: The Switchbacks live to make other teams uncomfortable. They like to press high. They're not afraid to get physical. And they can play fast and direct on the counter. The club won its one and only match, 2-1, against OKC Energy back on March 26. So they will be well-rested and excited to begin their home season.

Previous meetings: When these two teams meet, things get weird. In their first-ever meeting, the Switchbacks got two red cards in the second half, and had to play with nine men for the final 20 minutes. Arizona United SC made a furious comeback, but still fell 3-2. In their second match, an unplayable pitch didn't stop the match from happening, and Ariona United SC fell 5-0 in a muddy slog of a contest.

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