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Lightning Partner with Evansville Crush to Host US Open Qualifier

September 29, 2011 - Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL)
Louisville Lightning News Release


The Louisville Lightning is partnering with the Evansville Crush for the second straight year to host the Hoosier Cup play-in tournament for the 2011-2012 United States Open Arena Soccer Championships. The round-robin style tournament will be played in Evansville, IN on October 22 and 23. It is open to any competitive men's team interested in entering the national tournament.

Each year, the champion of this event will face the Lightning during the regular season as part of the tournament's elimination rounds. Winning teams advance through the stages to a championship match against the western region finalist.

Every team in the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) is required to host an open event for the tournament. The partnership promotes the event which will be hosted at Evansville's home arena. In 2010, the Evansville Crush (a member of the PASL-Premier) defeated the Lightning's Reserve Team in the finals of the October tournament to earn a game against the Lightning's Professional Team in the Round of 16. This season may present more of a challenge for the host team to advance. Teams from Cincinnati, Louisville, and Illinois have already signed up for the fourth year of this nationally known event.

Last year, the underdog story of the tournament came out of Detroit. A local men's amateur team known as AAFC, defeated the Detroit Waza, a professional team in the PASL, in a close 7-6 contest. This led to a quarterfinal matchup against the Louisville Lightning. The Lightning won this game and advanced to the semi-finals. During the previous season, the PASL-Premier Kansas City Kings upset the St. Louis Illusion. Kansas City's run to glory was short-lived as Cincinnati 1790 Express (now known as the Cincinnati Kings) won the next round match.

Eventually, the Louisville Lightning hosted the storied San Diego Sockers franchise in the championship match of the tournament. San Diego won this game 11-7.

"The US Open Tournament is an exciting concept. It provides an opportunity for any team in the country to reach the championship," says Evansville's GM, Andy Hines. "Our tournament is really exciting, with great competition all weekend."

Teams interested in participating in this year's tournament should log on to www.evansvillecrush.com or contact Andy Hines at evansvillecrush@gmail.com. The Louisville Lightning professional team will begin regular season play in the PASL-Pro League on November 4, 2011. Information about the team and season tickets can be found online at www.louisvillelightning.com.

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