For the first time in regular season history, Phoenix Rising FC and Sporting AZ will face off against each other in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Wednesday night at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

The winner of Wednesday’s match will host in the third round on May 23 against the winner of Fresno FC and Orange County FC.

Sporting AZ comes into this second round match on the heels of a 1-0 win over FC Arizona in the first round on May 9.  Captain Jon Guse scored in the second half to give Sporting AZ its first ever win in the Open Cup proper.

Sporting AZ leads the Southwest Conference of the UPSL with a 4-1-0 record on the season, two points ahead of MSC United and five points ahead of Sporting AZ II.

Alejandro Aguilar leads the team in scoring with four goals on the season. Aguilar has spent time in the USL with Pittsburgh in 2016, also had spells with Alajuelense, Carmelita and Cartigines, and also played last year with FC Arizona. Ismael Santana has two goals on the season, but may not be available for Sporting AZ, and Colin Kim has also scored two goals on the season.

Sporting AZ also boasts some names that are familiar to soccer fans in Phoenix. Sporting AZ goalkeeper Andrew Weber is one of the more familiar names. Weber began his career with D.C. United in 2005. He also had stops in MLS with San Jose and Seattle before joining Phoenix Wolves FC in 2013. Weber then went back to Seattle in late 2013 and also spent time with Portland. Weber played with FC Arizona last season before jumping to Sporting AZ this season.

Dominic Papa played his high school soccer at Chandler Hamilton and played with FC Tucson and the NASL’s San Antonio Scorpions before playing with FC Arizona last season and joining Sporting AZ this season.

Former Arizona United midfielder Tony Cascio joined the club this season. Cascio also played at Hamilton, and started his MLS career with Colorado from 2012-2014. Cascio played for USL side Orlando City in 2015 before joining Arizona United in 2016.

Phoenix Rising will have some lineup challenges in that Phoenix can only use five international players in the 18-man roster. So some players may be held back for later rounds of the tournament. Also, players are ineligible that are on loan to the club.

One player unavailable for Phoenix Rising will be defender Joe Farrell. Farrell picked up a red card in Rochester’s fourth round match last season, making him ineligible for his first match of the 2018 tournament.

Look for Phoenix Rising to get some players who have not seen much time so far this season get into the match. Phoenix Rising could see Devin Vega, Evan Waldrep, Dallas Jaye, Kevaughn Frater, and Luca Ricci among those getting some significant time Wednesday.