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USL Phoenix Rising FC

United Seeks to Keep on Scoring Heading Back into League Play

May 20, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Phoenix Rising FC News Release


Week 9 - Following a stellar performance in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup, Arizona United Soccer Club returns to league play this Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. to square off with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. And unlike previous league matches this season, Arizona United SC comes into a match after scoring a deluge of goals.

"League games are different than cup games," said Arizona United SC head coach Frank Yallop. "We just have to take (Wednesday night's performance) and take it into Saturday's game; enjoy that game and get a home win. Try to get our first win at home."

On Wednesday night, Arizona United scored five times thanks to four different goalscorers: Gibson Bardsley, Tyler Blackwood, Luke Rooney, and Long Tan (two goals). Prior to that, the club had scored two or more goals just once in nine overall matches.

"On our way (to Tucson) we said we need to score goals today," Blackwood said. "We haven't been doing it, we haven't scored over one, two goals in a game and so we needed to open the floodgates (on Wednesday) and let that carry into Saturday."

Blackwood also spoke about the confidence the goals provided him and his teammates. He said he was "buzzing" for Tan, who doesn't have a goal in eight league appearances this season. Tan hopes to turn around his fortunes following Wednesday's performance.

"I'm very happy because I was coming off a back injury and eight games not scoring, it's like I lost confidence," Tan said. "Then (in Wednesday's game) I score two goals and get more confident. ... I have a lot of confidence now and I'll try to do my best and score in every game."

Arizona United goes into Saturday on a four-match unbeaten streak in league play. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Scouting Report: Martin Maybin and Mike Seth were a handful against Arizona United when the two clubs met earlier in the season and there is no reason to think they won't continue to harass the United defense. Maybin leads the team in goals with four while Seth is right behind him with three of his own. Seth is the team leader in assists with three.

Previous meeting: Arizona United had a better second half in their first meeting with Colorado Springs, but it wasn't enough to overcome a two-goal deficit en route to a 2-0 loss on the road.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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