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USL1 Fort Lauderdale CF

Match Preview: Fort Lauderdale CF to Host FC Tucson on Saturday

July 24, 2020 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Fort Lauderdale CF News Release


Fort Lauderdale CF continues the action of its inaugural season taking on FC Tucson in the team's second USL League One regular season match. The matchup at Inter Miami CF Stadium is set to kick off at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN+.

"In the first match, what was good was that we had an identity in the game. We wanted to play from the back and play between the lines. But also, what was very exciting was the work ethic and the work rate from the very first minute in the game all the way to the very end. The result may not have been the one we wanted, but we saw a lot of encouraging signs, a lot of bright performances from young players," said Darren Powell, the interim Manager for the match as Jason Kreis is currently on duty for the U.S. U-23 Men's National Team.

"Tucson is a team with experienced players. We don't know much about each other, which is a good thing. We are going into the game making sure that we focus on ourselves again and that we continue to improve upon our identity, improve our performances and challenge the players to get better this week."

Fort Lauderdale CF is coming off of a 0-2 defeat against Greenville Triumph SC in the team's USL League One debut as part of its inaugural season. The match saw the team grant professional debuts to nine players, including seven Academy products. Academy products Francisco Raggio, Andres Cardenas and Edison Azcona made their professional debuts as members of the starting XI, while Ian Fray, Joshua Saavedra and Jason Buckner were introduced into the game as second-half substitutes. Defenders Frank Nodarse and Christian Lue Young also played the first match of their professional careers.

Additionally, the match marked the first in the history of Inter Miami CF Stadium. The new stadium sits in Fort Lauderdale next to the Inter Miami Training Center, the Club's elite 50,000-square-foot training center; the facilities are also home to Inter Miami's MLS team, as well as the Inter Miami CF Academy. Inter Miami CF Stadium will continue to serve as the permanent home of Fort Lauderdale CF after Inter Miami moves to the proposed Miami Freedom Park site.

In the 2019 season, FC Tucson finished eighth in the 10-team table and missed out on the playoffs. Overall, throughout the 2019 USL League One season the team recorded eight wins, nine draws and 11 losses. Tucson was led by USL League One All-Second Team forward Jordan Jones, who netted 10 goals and tallied three assists for the team. The match against Fort Lauderdale CF will be the team's first game of the 2020 USL League One season.

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