FC Tucson’s return to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup begins Wednesday against a familiar opponent.
The last time FC Tucson appeared in the competition–then an amateur team in the PDL–it was eliminated 4-2 by the Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL Championship.
The club will return to the competition for the fist time since 2018 by hosting Las Vegas Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. MST at Kino North Stadium.
Tickets to the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup are only $10. (BUY TICKETS)
(Las Vegas Lights FC).
The last time the two sides met in the competition Las Vegas midfielder Carlos Alvarez scored a goal and grabbed an assist as the Lights went up 2-0. Jason Romero scored for Tucson and assisted a goal by AJ Valenzuela in the early minutes of the second half to tie the game.
Las Vegas forward Sammy Ochoa added two more goals to put the game away.
Las Vegas has won three of its first five games and currently sit fifth in the Western Conference of the USL Championship. The most contentious was a 5-4 win over El Paso Locomotive FC.
All nine goals came in the second half. Las Vegas grabbed three goals in three minutes with forward Cal Jennings scoring twice and assisting on the other. El Paso continued to press and cut the Las Vegas’s lead to only one goal. Despite a late red card to Las Vegas, the Lights held on for the win.
Las Vegas is an affiliate team of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC and currently has seven LAFC players on loan. One of these is assist leader Jennings. Top goal scorer Daniel Trejo, with five goals this season, previously played with LAFC, but signed a contract with Las Vegas in 2021.
FC Tucson opened its season on Saturday in Virginia. The club lost 4-0 to the Richmond Kickers while missing two key players from the lineup.
Despite the absences, FC Tucson had 64% possession and created 15 shots. Midfielder Louis Perez nearly got on the board in the first half, but was denied by Richmond goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald.
FC Tucson returns to USL League One action on Saturday, April 16, against Forward Madison FC. (BUY TICKETS)
