Arizona United SC Falls To Oklahoma City In First Meeting of ‘15

All three goals scored in the second half

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (July 31, 2015) — After a busy first half with several chances, but no goals, Arizona United SC fell 3-0 to Oklahoma Energy FC in the first match of a two-match weekend.

United (7-11-1) didn’t take long to attack after the opening kickoff. In the 10^th minute, forward Dennis Chin laid off a ball for midfielder Chiva Cuevas near the top left corner of the 18-yard box. Cuevas turned to his right and took a shot but it was deflected away. Moments later, new addition Jonathan Okafor nearly beat his defender down the right flank of the box but was denied a shot.

Then, in the 33^rd minute, Okafor attacked the defense by running down the right flank of the 18-yard box again. He stopped, turned to his left, and then drove a quick shot to the near post. But Oklahoma City goalkeeper Evan Newton denied the shot with a diving save.

In the second half, Okafor created another scoring opportunity. He worked his way into the middle of the penalty area and got a shot at the net, but the ball went sailing over the crossbar.

Less than ten minutes later, Okafor tipped away an Oklahoma City pass and inadvertently created a counter attack. The deflected ball went out ahead to an onrushing Tan, but the ball rolled too far ahead of the forward and was cleared away by the goalkeeper.

The Energy (8-5-7) scored all three of their goals in the second half. The team’s leading scorer, Danni Konig, earned a brace. The forward drew a 55^th-minute penalty in the box and buried his penalty kick to make the score 1-0. Then Konig struck again in the 80^th minute, this time with his head.

Oklahoma City’s Michael Thomas headed a free kick from the right side of the penalty area to the the far-left post where Konig was waiting to head the ball into the back of the net. The Energy scored their final goal in stoppage time when Gareth Evans drove a 25-yard shot just under the crossbar to make it 3-0.

United ends its road trip this Sunday, August 2, at Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The Roughnecks come off a 3-1 Friday loss to Vancouver Whitecaps 2.

Arizona United FC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and fans can watch the stream at ArizonaUnited.com.

For more information on Arizona United Soccer Club, follow the team on Facebook www.facebook.com/ArizonaUnitedSoccer, Twitter @AZUnitedSC or Instagram @AZUnitedSC.

Photo credit: Steven Christy/Energy FC