United Ready to Make Third U.S. Open Cup Appearance
May 17, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release
Arizona United Soccer Club takes a break from United Soccer League play on Wednesday night to take on Premier Development League side FC Tucson in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The match, hosted by FC Tucson at Kino North Stadium, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
"I expect it to be like a typical cup game," said Arizona United SC assistant coach Mark Bircham. "It should be high tempo and high intensity. Hopefully it'll be a fun game."
This will be Arizona United's third time participating in the U.S. Open Cup. As part of the USL, the team automatically enters the tournament in the second round. In 2014, the club reached the fourth round of the tournament, losing to the eventual Major League Soccer champion LA Galaxy. Last season, the club fell in the second round (its first game) to amateur side Chula Vista FC.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy is a single-elimination style tournament which includes every professional club in the United States, plus a group of amateur and semi-professional teams. This season a total of 91 teams began the tournament.
"Anything can happen (in this tournament)," said Arizona United goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski. "Last year we got upset in the (second) round and none of us were happy about that. We want to move forward and get a better result this year and go to the deep stages."
Scouting Report: As an amateur team, FC Tucson had to play in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup last week, where they defeated San Nicolas FC, 3-0. The team has also begun its league play in the PDL and is off to a 2-0-0 start with back-to-back shutouts to begin the season.
Previous meetings: This will be the first competitive meeting between the two clubs. They played a preseason friendly during this year's Desert Diamond Cup. Arizona United won that match, 3-1.
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