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USL Phoenix Rising FC

Match Preview: Arizona United SC vs Chula Vista Futbol Club in U.S. Open Cup Second Round

May 20, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Arizona United SC in Action
Arizona United SC in Action
(Phoenix Rising FC)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (May 20, 2015) - Looking to build off of last year's impressive Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run, Arizona United Soccer Club enters the 102nd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer with a second round matchup against Chula Vista Futbol Club on Wednesday, May 20 at Scottsdale Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., gates will open at 6:30 p.m., and parking around the stadium is free.

All tickets to the match are 50% off, and all fans are invited to attend Arizona United SC's official pre-game party at RnR Gastropub (3737 N. Scottsdale Rd.), located just a minutes walk from the stadium. For ticket information visit arizonaunited.com/tickets or by calling 623-594-9606.. The match will not be streamed live.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, recognized as the U.S. Soccer Federation's national club championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. This year's cup features 91 teams from across: Major League Soccer, North American Soccer League, United Soccer League, Premier Development League, National Premier Soccer League, USCS, USSSA, and USASA. The tournament has crowned a champion more than 100 consecutive years dating to 1914. Arizona United SC and the other 21 USL clubs (excluding the three Canadian teams: Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, Toronto FC, FC Montreal) enter the tournament in the second round as automatic qualifiers.

Arizona United SC's performance in the 2014 U.S. Open Cup earned the club the distinction of being the first Arizona based team to advance to the fourth round. Advancing that far was no easy task as Arizona United SC needed three goals in the final 10 minutes to defeat the Portland Timbers U-23s, 3-2, in the second round on the road, and a 112th minute goal to advance them past OKC Energy FC in the third round. Arizona United SC's run ended in the fourth round when Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy defeated Arizona, 2-1, at home in front of a then club record 4,018 fans.

Wednesday's opponent is Chula Vista Futbol Club, who qualified for the U.S. Open Cup after securing an automatic berth as the Region IV Open Cup Regional Champion. Chula Vista FC entered this year's cup with a first round matchup against FC Tucson on Wednesday, May 13. FC Tucson scored the opening goal in the 58th minute and Chula Vista equalized in the 82nd minute to send the match into extra time. A 95th minute goal from Angel Pinal proved to be enough as Chula Vist FC held on for the 2-1 win.

In USL play, Arizona United SC is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference with 13 points through eight matches. Long Tan leads the team with four goals, and Jonathan Top and Dennis Chin are tied for second with two goals each.

For more information on Arizona United Soccer Club, follow the team on Facebook www.facebook.com/ArizonaUnitedSoccer, Twitter @AZUnitedSC or Instagram @AZUnitedSC.

2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Participating Teams

Participating Professional Teams (47 total)

Major League Soccer (Division I - 17 teams, entering in the Fourth Round): Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew SC, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Sporting Kansas City

North American Soccer League (Division II - 9 teams, entering in the Third Round): Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Indy Eleven, Jacksonville Armada, Minnesota United FC, New York Cosmos, San Antonio Scorpions, Tampa Bay Rowdies

USL PRO (Division III - 21 teams, entering in the Second Round): Arizona United, Austin Aztex, Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence, Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Harrisburg City Islanders, LA Galaxy II, Louisville City FC, New York Red Bulls II, Oklahoma City Energy, Orange County Blues, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Portland Timbers 2, Real Monarchs SLC, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Rhinos, Sacramento Republic, Saint Louis FC, Seattle Sounders 2, Tulsa Roughnecks, Wilmington Hammerheads

Distribution of Amateur-Level Places (44 total)

U.S. Adult Soccer Association Regional Qualifiers (11 places [nine entering in the First Round, two entering in the Play-In Round): Region I - Maryland Bays, New York Greek American Atlas; Region II - KC Athletics (Kan.), Madison Fire (Wis.); Region III - NTX Rayados (North Texas), Triangle Brigade (N.C.); Region IV - Cal FC (Calif.-South), Chula Vista FC (Calif.-South); Wild Card Berths (3): Global Premier Soccer (Mass.), PSA Elite (Calif.-South), RWB Adria (Ill.). Five USASA regional qualifiers advanced to the third round in 2014, including Cinderella story PSA Elite, who reached the fourth round and faced the eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC.

Premier Development League (19 places, entering in the First Round): Division Winners: Des Moines Menace, FC Tucson, Jersey Express, Kitsap Pumas, Michigan Bucks, Ocala Stampede, Seacoast United Phantoms, Ventura County Fusion, West Virginia Chaos; At-Large Berths: AC Connecticut, Burlingame Dragons, BYU Cougars, Golden State Misioneros, Laredo Heat, Long Island Rough Riders, Midland/Odessa Sockers, Reading United, SW Florida Adrenaline, Western Mass Pioneers. The PDL is a national amateur league affiliated with the USASA. Two PDL sides advanced to the fourth round in 2014 (Orlando City U23s and Laredo Heat, which had the only amateur victory over a Division II club when they came from behind on the road to knock off the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3-2 with a penalty kick in the last act of regulation time).

National Premier Soccer League (12 places, entering in the First Round): Brooklyn Italians, Chattanooga FC (Tenn.), Detroit City FC, FC Tacoma 253, Fort Pitt Regiment (Pa.), Greater Binghamton Thunder (N.Y.), Lansing United (Mich.), Miami United (Fla.), Sonoma County Sol (Calif.), Tulsa Athletics (Okla.), Upward Star (S.C.), Virginia Beach City FC. The NPSL is a national amateur league affiliated with the USASA. Two NPSL clubs (Brooklyn Italians and Chattanooga FC) reached the third round in 2014.

US Club Soccer (one place, entering in the Play-In Round): US Club Soccer is an organization member of U.S. Soccer participating in its fifth Open Cup tournament in the last six years. San Francisco City FC won the US Club Soccer qualifying place on Jan. 31 and is making its first trip to the tournament.

U.S. Specialty Sports Association (one place, entering in the Play-In Round): The USSSA is an organization member of U.S. Soccer participating in its third consecutive Open Cup tournament. Its qualifier was decided on March 15 when Harpo's FC from Boulder, Colorado, won the USSSA qualifying tournament.

Tournament Format, Match Dates and Pairings: The 2015 U.S. Open Cup will be conducted on a single-elimination, one-game-knockout basis utilizing a tiered-bracket format. Teams will be paired geographically. In the event that three or more teams are from the same proximity, pairings for these teams will be made by random selection. Pairings will be arranged to prevent the possibility of a lower division team playing a parent club (e.g. Portland Timbers 2 [USL] will not be pitted against the Portland Timbers [MLS], should both teams be in the competition in the same round) except for the Final.

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Arizona United SC in Action
Arizona United SC in Action
 Arizona United SC in Action
Arizona United SC in Action
  

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