Sporting AZ FC had an exciting run in the 2018 US Open Cup, with victories over FC Arizona and Phoenix Rising FC before losing to Fresno FC in an extra-time loss. Looking to continue their success, SAZ faced UPSL division rival Southwest FC on Sunday in a mid-day match at South Mountain Community College.
Sporting AZ came into the match with supreme confidence. A chunk of the team recently returned from the International Socca Federation 6v6 World Cup in Portugal. The squad went 2-0 against the visitors in league play, where they went undefeated in games actually played. They were well rested by virtue of a first-round bye. The stars seemed aligned for an easy path to qualification, and a deep run when the tournament kicks off in earnest.
The visitors from El Paso didn’t get the memo.
Southwest FC got off to a quick start with a set-piece goal in the third minute. They continued to set the pace of the match with strong wing play, which lead to a bouncing through-pass which challenged Goalkeeper Andrew Weber to move to the corner of the 18-yard-box to clear. With both players charging to the ball, Weber’s clearance attempt caused the SFC player to fall, and in the Referee’s eyes, denied him a scoring opportunity and earned Weber a red card in the 17th minute.
The red card put SAZ down a man, and the team in blue and white to make an early substitution in order to get backup goalkeeper Chase Boulton onto the field.
Southwest FC, now up a man on the home squad, continued to dictate play, but chances still came to Sporting. In the 32nd minute, Noel Castillo received the ball on the right wing and was able to beat several defenders before slotting a goal past the keeper to the far post.
Sporting AZ FC continued to show fight, but that aggressiveness was well noted by the referee. The first half continued to be very physical, and both teams were vocal about perceived injustices, missed fouls, and inconsistent discipline, the worst of which came when the referee gave a yellow card to SAZ defender Dominic Papa, who wasn’t even on the field yet.
The sccond half featured much of the same physical middle-of-the-field action The deadlock was broken in the 67th minute when Southwest FC took control in the middle of the field. With Sporting’s defender covering a runner, the wing defenders were unable to get to the ball carrier in time. Backup keeper Boulton was out of position and was able to deflect the shot, but did not have enough power to push the ball over the net, and the ball bounced over the line to put the home squad down 1-2.
Frustration continued to mount for the rest of the half. Every challenge resulted in some conversation with the referee. Papa, who came on in the 55th minute for Brian Green, found a second yellow in the 82nd, putting Sporting down to 9 men, and all-but-sealing the match for Southwest FC. The visitors found the net twice more in the waning minutes of the match against the depleted hometown favorites to run the fill-time score to 1-4.
With Sporting AZ FC failing to qualify for the US Open Cup, and FC Tucson being ineligible due to shared-ownership rules, Phoenix Rising FC will be the only Arizona team that will appear in the national tournament in 2019. 2018 USOC participant FC Arizona is a member of the NPSL, which uses the Open Division National leagues Track to determine qualifiers from previous league results, and is therefore ineligible to participate in the Open Division Local Qualifying track.
The US Open Cup kicks off in May 2019.
