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USL Phoenix Rising FC

Arizona United SC Looks to Win Rubber Match

September 3, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Arizona United Soccer Club (8-12-6) returns to San Antonio to take on San Antonio FC (9-9-7) on Sunday, September 4 at 3:00 P.M. The club heads into the showdown battling through a four-match losing streak. But head coach Frank Yallop knows how the team can end its streak.

"The big thing is just cutting the mistakes out," Yallop said. "It's not an easy solution. I think we've played pretty well in most of the games we've had. ... For us, to start from scratch this season, we've come a long way. Our performances are pretty good when we have a healthy unit but we've just been punished badly by the mistakes we make. We gotta cut that out because it's obviously costs us."

Yallop cited red cards in consecutive matches, losses to Whitecaps FC and Real Monarchs SLC, as examples of the kinds of mistakes the team needs to cut out. He pointed out that in both games, the team had been playing well and attacking with danger until they had to go down a man.

Forward Chris Cortez also agreed that the team needed to work on minimizing mistakes.

"(It's about) knowing when to take risks and when not to," Cortez said. "The best teams punish you when you make mistakes. Teams here have punished us. On the opposite side, we need to be able to punish when other teams make mistakes. Teams have made plenty of mistakes against us and we haven't punished them."

Sunday's match won't just be about stopping a losing streak. The club is also still in a race for a playoff spot and opportunities to secure one are dwindling. Arizona United SC is stuck at 30 points, four points behind the final playoff spot with four matches, and 12 possible points, remaining. If the club losses on Sunday, it would fall back seven points from the final playoff spot, with only nine possible points remaining in the schedule.

Scouting Report: San Antonio has won three of their last four matches with their last match a 2-1 loss to Swope Park Rangers. And in 12 matches at Toyota Field in San Antonio, the club is 6-3-3. So the team has been playing well in the short term and has been difficult to beat at home all season. The team is also riding the hot hand of goalkeeper Matt Cardone, who has allowed just four goals in the last four matches and has notched two shutouts since he took over for the injured Josh Ford.

Previous meeting: Midfielder Luke Rooney scored a brace, but it wasn't enough in a 3-2 Arizona United SC loss at Toyota Field.

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