Arizona United Soccer Club Defeats Orange County Blues FC 2-1 In Season Opener

Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski turns in a man-of-the-match performance

IRVINE, Calif. (March 28, 2015) – First half goals from forwards Dennis Chin and Robbie Derschang and stellar second half performance from goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski propelled Arizona United Soccer Club to a 2-1 win over Orange County Blues FC in its 2015 USL season opener. 

Match Replay

Both of Arizona United SC’s goals were scored within three minutes of each other in the first half. Chin, two-time USL Champion and former league leading goal scorer with Orlando City SC, recorded his first career Arizona United SC goal in the 20th minute. Midfielder Milton Blanco collected a loose ball on the line and played a ball over the top. Tan won a 50-50 ball against OC Blues FC defender Brenton Griffiths and held up play inside the box. With his back to the net, Tan played back to Chin who fired a shot into the far post. 

Three minutes later, Arizona United SC doubled its lead when Derschang beat an offside trap and headed home a Victor Muñoz cross. 

Arizona United SC’s quick start was brought to an abrupt halt on a opportunistic goal from OC Blues FC forward Chris Cortez in the 36th minute. Arizona United SC defender Tyler Ruthven attempted a pass back to Woszczynski. The ball lost momentum yards in front of Woszczynski, who ran off his line. As this happened, Cortez ran around Ruthven and chipped the ball over Woszczynski to cut Arizona UnitedSC ‘s lead. 

For the next 40 minutes, both sides exchanged possession with neither side threatening to produce a goal. Then in the 76th minute, OC Blues FC looked as if they had equalized the match if not for the first of two impressive saves by Woszczynski. 

Cortez, unmarked in the box, redirected a header to the far post. Woszczynski dived to his left and punched the ball off the line and out of the box. 

Woszczynski’s second save of the match occurred in the third minute of stoppage time. OC Blues FC pushed players forward in the dying minutes, and a cross from the right side was sent into Arizona United SC’s box. OC Blues FC forward Amani Walker rose above the crowd and redirected the cross to the back post. Woszczynksi dived to his right and managed to get a hand on what looked to be the mach equalizer. Minutes later the final whistle was blown. 

Up next for Arizona United SC is the LA Galaxy II in the second match of a four-match road trip to start the 2015 USL season. The match will be played on Thursday at the StubHub Center – Track & Field Stadium with kick off set for 7:30 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed live on arizonaunited.com. 

Arizona United SC makes its home debut at Scottsdale Stadium on April 25 against the Portland Timbers FC 2 at 7:30 p.m. PT. 

Season tickets to Arizona United SC matches start at $178 – $12 per match – while single-game tickets start at $15 per game. For ticketing information, contact the Arizona United SC front office by calling 623-594-9606 or info@arizonaunited.com. Additionally, all Arizona United SC home matches include free parking.

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

Notes: Dating back to last year, Arizona United SC is currently on a five-match winning streak against USL competition. 

-Arizona United Soccer Club Match Report-

Match: Arizona United Soccer Club vs. Orange County Blues FC
Date: March 28, 2015
Competition: USL
Venue: Anteater Stadium
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Weather: Clear, and 74 degrees
Attendance: 1,873

Scoring Summary:
AZ – Dennis Chin (assist: Long Tan) – 20th minute
AZ – Robbie Derschang (assist: Victor Muñoz) – 23rd minute
OC – Chris Cortez – 36th minute

Lineups:

Arizona United SC: Carl Woszczynski, Damian Rosales (Brock Granger – 80), Tyler Ruthven, Rob Valentino, Scott Morrison, Joey Dillon, Milton Blanco, Victor Muñoz (George Malki – 72), Robbie Derschang (Jonathan Top – 69), Long Tan, Dennis Chin

Did not play: Jacole Turner, Daniel Antúnez, Cameron Vickers, Devon Grousis

Orange County Blues FC: Billy Thompson, Jack McCracken, Brenton Griffiths, Navarro, Josh Suggs, Didier Crettenand, Luka Petricevic, Jiovanni Santana, Denzel Slager, Ramirez, Chris Cortez

Did not play: Aaron Perez, Jimmy Turner, Ilich, Jacob Barron, Christopher Santana, Seung Ju Kim, Amani Walker