By H. Jose Bosch

San Antonio, TX (Tuesday, May 21, 2013) — FC Tucson had done everything it could to beat San Antonio in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. But as the players waited for San Antonio’s Kevin Harmes to take their final penalty kick, all the club could do was rely on their opposition to find out their fate.

Harmes sent his penalty kick into the night sky and FC Tucson moved on to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup after a 2-2 draw in regulation and a 4-3 win in penalty kicks. The win makes FC Tucson the first club in Arizona history to advance to the third round of the U.S Open Cup

“It’s big time,” said FC Tucson midfielder Ricardo Velazco. “It’s big time for Arizona. It’s big time for the staff, for all the FC Tucson fans and for me. … This goes to Arizona. This goes out to all of Tucson and the supporters who have been behind us. This goes out to all of them.”

FC Tucson was moments from winning the match 2-1 at the end of regulation but a late handball call in the box gave the Scorpions new life and Hans Denissen converted the penalty kick to tie the match.

“I talked to everyone and tried to calm everyone down (and tell them) to play our game,” said Eli Galbraith-Knapp about his reaction to the penalty kick. “And we did. And we came back and fought for 120 minutes and we got the win.”

But the final goal of regulation may not have happened if it had not been for the goalkeeping of Dallas Jaye. In the 59th minute, Jaye leapt to punch a shot over the bar to keep the match 1-1. Then in the 88th minute, Jaye managed to stop a shot from close range before it got tangled in a web of flying legs before finally being cleared.

Even the handball call was the result of a Jaye save. During the sequence, a Scorpion player fired a close-range shot, but Jaye pushed away toward his left before it hit an FC Tucson player for the hand ball call. Then Jaye made two more big saves in extra time.

“It fires up the team,” said captain Travis Campbell about Jaye’s performance. “That gets the team going. He made some great, huge saves: one v one and everything. It was a real big boost for us on the field.”

San Antonio opened the match’s scoring when Harmes came screaming into the box and headed a corner inside the near post past a hopeless Dallas Jaye. The score remained 1-0 until the 57th minute when midfielder Ricardo Velazco cracked a shot from just outside the box into the bottom corner of the net.

Then in the 64th minute forward Saeed Robinson appeared to score FC Tucson’s second goal of the match but it was then called off because Robinson was caught offside. Three minutes later Conner Bevans found Robinson right at the far post and Robinson tapped the ball in to give FC Tucson a 2-1 lead.

FC Tucson will now play the Houston Dynamo in Houston on May 29 in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.

By H. Jose Bosch

San Antonio, TX (May 21, 2013) — Ask FC Tucson defender Travis Campbell about defending his forward and midfielders teammates and he’ll just shake his head and smile.

“Shoot, in practice it’s hard playing against (them),” Campbell said. “I can’t even imagine how it is in game situations for other center backs and other defenders.”

In short: it’s been hell.

In just three matches prior to tonight’s U.S. Open Cup tilt with the San Antonio Scorpions, FC Tucson has scored five goals (three goals in two PDL matches). Last season the club scored just three goals in its first three matches (all PDL). That increase may not seem like much, but talk to anyone from the team and they’ll tell you FC Tucson is a much more dangerous scoring threat than it was last season thanks to the addition of players like Ricardo Velazco, Saeed Robinson, Dakota Collins and David Clemens. (Velazco isn’t completely new to FC Tucson. He joined the club in the second half of last season, but only appeared in four matches).

“When you have forwards that don’t lose the ball, it allows everybody else to be better,” said FC Tucson Head Coach Rick Schantz.

That confidence on the ball has changed FC Tucson’s mentality on the pitch. Players Ricardo Velazco and Travis Campbell both said they believe the club’s mindset is more attack-oriented than it was last season, when it was a more counter-attacking team.

That resulted in a lot of tightly contested matches. During a nine-match stretch in the PDL season last year, FC Tucson scored just one goal eight times. Remarkably the club went 6-0-3 over that time. But FC Tucson went 3-3-1 the rest of the season, including a first-round playoff lost to Sounders U23.

Playing that many close matches eventually takes its toll on the defense. But Campbell, who helped anchor the back line last season, believes FC Tucson’s new arsenal of attackers will not only help the team in the win column, but also on the field.

“Scoring goals really takes off a lot of pressure,” Campbell said. “You feel a little more relaxed and you’re not stressed the entire time. … As a defender (those close games) really take a toll on your body because your stressed and you have to go full speed. Now if we’re scoring goals we can sit more relaxed, the other team might shut down, and the game slows down a little bit.”

Added Velazco: “It’s wonderful when you have players that you can combine with and you know that they can take on players as well. It makes it easier for me because (the defense) doesn’t have to worry so much about me and they have to worry about all the other players. That opens up more space for me.”

The club doesn’t expect things to be too relaxed when it heads into the brand new Toyota Field to play the San Antonio Scorpions at 7:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday night, but if FC Tucson is to pull off the upset, it will largely be in part because of it’s new dynamic attack. Schantz said that the Scorpions are very big and athletic, but he expects that his forwards will have a few chances during the match to get past the defenders and make runs.

FC Tucson will just have to take advantage of the limited opportunities. But, if confidence is part of the recipe of an upset, then FC Tucson has plenty of it.

“Get a win,” said Velazco when asked about the team’s mindset. “No matter what, just get a win. Pretty or ugly, make sure that we get the ‘W.’ ”

By H. Jose Bosch

Tucson, AZ (Saturday, May 18, 2013) — It took FC Tucson six PDL matches to score more than one goal in 2012. They did that in just its second match in 2013.

FC Tucson downed Southern California 3-1 on Saturday in front of a crowd of 747. The win gives FC Tucson (1-0-1) four points out of a possible six to begin the season.

“It was unbelievable,” said FC Tucson forward David Clemens “I’m grateful I got the chance to be in the lineup and the fans were unbelievable. It’s an awesome experience to be in front of all the fans. I mean the atmosphere is unbelievable there’s nothing else I could ask for.”

FC Tucson pressed the Seahorses (0-2-0) defense early and often, testing goalkeeper Cody Suppe for the first 20 minutes of the match. But the club finally broke through following a penalty called in the box after Eli Galbraith-Knapp drew a foul. Ricardo Velazco calmly stepped up to the spot of the ball and hit the back of the net on his penalty kick to give FC Tucson a 1-0 lead at the 21st minute.

Twenty minutes later, Clemens had arguably the highlight of the night despite not even scoring a goal. Clemens picked up the ball in the attacking right corner of the field. With two defenders between him and the 18-yard box, Clemens darted past the first defender’s left side with a sliver of space left between him and the endline.

Then he rushed past the second defender’s right side on his way into the 18-yard box.

And finally he took a quick shot that passed the goalkeeper only to slam against the crossbar.

Clemens had another chance moments later when Connor Brandt toe poked a slow-rolling pass to him into the box. The Virginia Tech product had to wait a little bit for the ball to reach him but he calmly shot the ball into the back of the net to give FC Tucson a 2-0 lead at the 44th minute.

“I felt that I could get another one,” Clemens said. “I kept plugging it in, and Connor played a great ball in and I just slipped it past the goalie.”

Southern California opened the second half on the attack, notching a shot on goal less than five minutes into the second frame. Then in the 49th minute, the Seahorses’ Zach Bautista cut the lead to one goal.

The game slowed down a bit after the goal and neither team could create any dangerous chances. Then Southern California’s Geoff Bowman earned a red card in the 83rd minute, which all but killed any chance for the Seahorses to tie the match.

Velazco iced the match with his 86th minute goal, which was his second of the match.

“It feels fantastic to finally score,” Velazco said. “It’s my first goal and I made one the second half (and) it feels great. The fans are great, I love them, everyone here is fantastic. I love everybody. I couldn’t be more happy.”

FC Tucson’s next match will be on Tuesday, May 21 in the second round of the U.S. Open Cup against the San Antonio Scorpions.

Click here to check out the photo gallery from Saturday’s match.

Goals
FCT: ’21, 9-Ricardo Velazco (PK), ’44, 23-David Clemens (11-Connor Brandt), ’86, 9-Ricardo Velazco (23-David Clemens)
SCS: ’49, 19-Zach Bautista (23-Dylan Martinez)

Starting Lineups
FCT: 0-Micheal D’Arrigo; 19-Tim Harbison, 21-Greg Carter, 3-Connor Spence (’38, 2-Mitch Garcia; ’68, 22-Kevin Gould), 6-Travis Campbell; 9-Ricardo Velasco, 11-Connor Brandt (’74, Conner Bevans), 17-Edgar Reyna, 13-Eli Galbraith-Knapp, 5-Saeed Robinson (’80, 15-Stephan Posa); 23-David Clemens
Coach: Rick Schantz

SCS: 1-Cody Suppe; 13-Seth Arriaga (’78, 8-Josh Kimball), 15-Brett Croft (’54, 17 Doug Armstrong), 21-Joao Couto, 22-Kelvin Fares (’85, 5-Adam Howard); 7-Josh Ayers (’68, 2-Josh Ault), 9-Marc Hope (‘80, 3-Abraham Santos), 12-Geoff Bowman, 19-Zach Bautista (’74, 18-Tony Montalvo); 11-Alex Anderson, 23-Dylan Martinez
Coach: Todd Elkins

Booked
FCT: ’33, 6-Travis Campbell
SCS: ’79, 21-Joao Couto, ’90, 23-Dylan Martinez

Ejection
SCS: ’82, 12-Geoff Bowman

By H. Jose Bosch

Tucson, AZ (May 17, 2013) — Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Phoenix FC in the U.S. Open Cup is still fresh in the minds of everyone at Kino Sports Complex North. There’s really no choice. Just a day after the historic win, FC Tucson staff was scrambling to plan its road trip to San Antonio for the second round of the tournament.

But while the second round of the U.S. Open Cup is on the minds of everyone, there is still a league match to be played on Saturday, May 18 against Southern California. And it’s the home opener for the PDL season.

“The confidence is sky high and I’m sure that they feel they can beat anybody,” said FC Tucson Head Coach Rick Schantz. “The difficult part is I hope they’re not overlooking this game and thinking about the U.S. Open Cup match (on May 21).”

Schantz said he’s stressed to his players that the club’s second round match doesn’t mean anything without a positive result on Saturday. A deep run in the U.S. Open Cup would be thrilling but without a top-two finish in league play, FC Tucson wouldn’t make it back to the U.S. Open Cup next season.

FC Tucson forward Ricardo Velasco acknowledged the excitement on the team for the U.S. Open Cup but said the team is still very focused its PDL home opener.

“Everybody’s really focused on the Seahorses,” Velasco said. “Of course everyone is looking forward to San Antonio but we can’t forget about our (PDL home opener) on Saturday.”

Added FC Tucson Captain Travis Campbell: “We have a big game in front of our home crowd. I think the guys are a little bit more focused and ready for this game.”

Last season FC Tucson won both of its matches against Southern California. The last time the Seahorses traveled to Tucson they lost 1-0 in the first PDL home match in FC Tucson’s history. In their second meeting, at Southern California, FC Tucson had its best scoring day ever, winning 4-2 in the last regular season weekend of the season.

Schantz said the staff doesn’t know as much about Southern California as they’d like. Because of a lack of game film and roster turnover, it’s difficult to fully know what FC Tucson will go up against. But Schantz believes the Seahorses will play a more defensive style and that FC Tucson will likely press a little bit more with their attack.

“We’re going to do the things that we do,” Schantz said. “We can only control what we can control and we’ll do the best that we can at it. We were very organized on our set plays; organized defensively (against Phoenix). And just like I told them before Tuesday night, if you leave everything on the field, you won’t be disappointed.”

FC Tucson opens its PDL home season against the Southern California Seahorses on Saturday, May 18 at the Kino Sports Complex North Grandstand. The match will kick off at approximately 7:30 p.m.

FC Tucson will also be hosting the first semifinal match of the Chapman’s Champions League at 5:15 p.m. The champions of the Menlo Park League and the Guanajuato Arizona Soccer League will be squaring off. The winner of the Men’s Chapman Tucson Champions League will play FC Tucson on Saturday, July 6.

By H. Jose Bosch

Tucson, AZ (Tuesday, May 14, 2013) — Conner Bevans’ made the most of his 11 minutes and etched himself into FC Tucson lore after scoring both goals in FC Tucson’s 2-1 upset win over USL Pro side Phoenix FC.

“You approach every game thinking that you can come out with big moments, and you got to be your best,” Bevans said.

Bevans’ game winner came at roughly the 93rd minute of the game when he slotted a shot into the bottom right corner of the net past a helpless Sheldon Parkinson. The assist came from Saeed Robinson, who redeemed himself after missing an 88th-minute penalty kick with the score tied 1-1.

Said Robinson about what he thought after the OK: “ ‘I lost the game.’ That’s all I thought. ‘I lost the game.’”

For a long time it seemed that Phoenix FC would squeeze by with a 1-0 win after Diego Faria netted the match’s first goal of the game in the 62nd minute. Even though FC Tucson kept a somewhat steady attack following the deflating goal, the club didn’t have any good opportunities to equalize.

It wouldn’t be until the 82nd minute that a light shone on an otherwise dark half. Bevans crossed the ball into the box and Phoenix keeper Parkinson appeared to have an easy grab to make. But he mishandled the cross and the ball agonizingly trickled into the left side of the net as the Tucson crowd of 910 erupted in cheers.

With new life, FC Tucson’s attack improved and in the 88th minute Robinson drew what appeared to be a game-ending penalty in the box. But the Grand Canyon University product fired his shot off the crossbar and the match seemed destined for extra time and more discomfort for fans of both sides.

Bevans’ game-winner all but erased the missed PK and focused everyone’s attention on round two of the U.S. Open Cup.

“I think (Robinson) holding on to it the way that he did made everybody step to him because if they didn’t he would have had the open shot,” said Bevans. “Then I saw him and delayed my run a little bit, he dropped it off and boom, there it is.”

FC Tucson will travel to San Antonio to take on NASL side San Antonio Scorpions on Tuesday, May 21. The winner of that match will square off against an as-yet-to-be determined MLS club.

Goals
FC Tucson: ’82, 8-Conner Bevans, ’92, 8-Conner Bevans
Phoenix FC: ’62, 9-Diego Faria

Starting Lineups
FC Tucson: 18-Dallas Jaye; 17-Edgar Reyna, 21-Greg Carter, 6-Travis Campbell, 19-Tim Harbison (’79, 8-Conner Bevans); 20-Brandon Zimmerman, 9-Ricardo Velasco (’93, 12-Andrew Villalobos), 11-Connor Brandt, 13-Eli Galbraith-Knapp, 5-Saeed Robinson; 14-Dakota Collins (’68, 15-Stephen Posa)

Coach: Rick Schantz

Phoenix FC: 13-Sheldon Parkinson; 25-Donald Toia, 11-Cyprian Hedrick, 8-Joao DeJesus Inacio, 5-Renon Boufleur; 6-Anthony Obodai, 18-Toomas Ramos (’52, 14-Aaron King), 3-Scott Morrison; 9-Diefo Faria, 23-Yuan De Dove Moer (’68, 2-Reid Schmitt), 27-Travis Bowen (’79, 22-Cameron Vickers).

Booked
FC Tucson: ’24, 5-Saeed Robinson; ’79, 13-Eli Galbraith-Knapp.
Phoenix FC: ’13, 27-Travis Bowen; ’28, 8-Joao Inacio DeJesus; ’57, 14-Aaron King; ’61, 11-Cyprian Hedrick; ’71, 6-Anthony Obodai.

By H. Jose Bosch

Heading into Tuesday night’s U.S. Open Cup match, one of Phoenix FC’s advantages may actually benefit FC Tucson: the Wolves have played a lot more matches.

“We have an opportunity to play against a team we’ve really prepared for,” said FC Tucson Head Coach Rick Schantz. “We haven’t quite been able to prepare on the field as much as we would’ve liked, but we scouted all (nine) of their matches and we feel we know about as much of their team as we could possibly know.”

What Schantz does know is that beating Phoenix FC (2-5-2), even after the club is coming off back-to-back road losses over the weekend, will be a difficult task. But Schantz said he has confidence in his club’s work rate and any conversation about an upset win has to start with outworking the USLPro side who will likely be fitter and more cohesive and is already very athletic.

“If we can outwork them and keep ourselves in the game and not make any silly mistakes, it gives us a shot,” Schantz said. “If we get to 15 minutes left to play and it’s still 0-0, it’s anybody’s game.”

FC Tucson (0-0-1) has played just one match, a 1-1 draw against the Los Angeles Misioneros on Sunday, May 11, and returned from its season-opening road trip late on Sunday night. Because of the quick turnaround between matches, the club didn’t go through a full training session on Monday and the players still haven’t had a chance to sit down with the staff and go over strategies for the match.

But team captain Travis Campbell was confident despite the lack of on-the-field work FC Tucson will have heading into Tuesday night’s mach. He said the team did well coming together as a unit to defend in the second half of its match against the Misioneros and that the key to a win against the Wolves would be that continued growth on team defense.

In Sunday’s match FC Tucson fell behind 1-0 after a deflected free kick got past the keeper. The defense allowed just two shots in the first half. It allowed zero shots in the second half.

“We’ve been playing soccer for 14, 15 years,” said defender Edgar Reyna when asked about FC Tucson’s lack of matches played compared to Phoenix FC. “We’ll figure it out.”

Should the match come down to the final moments, there’s no doubt the atmosphere will be electric. The match is not only a showdown between clubs from Arizona’s two biggest cities; it’s an historic event.

This is the first time in the 100-year history of the U.S. Open Cup that two clubs from Arizona are squaring off in a tournament match. And it’s not just two Arizona clubs. It’s Tucson vs. Phoenix, a rivalry that is older than the state itself.

“You put any teams, Phoenix vs. Tucson, there’s always going to be a rivalry” said Reyna, who grew up playing soccer for the Tucson Soccer Academy. “It’s going to be a hard game but it’s really exciting. Words can’t express it. You’re just going in front of your home crowd and it’s really exciting.”

By H. Jose Bosch

Despite giving up a late first-half goal, FC Tucson rallied in the second half and drew the Los Angeles Misioneros 1-1 in the 2013 season opener on the road.

“The most important aspect of today’s game was we had 17 players play, we had no injuries, we got a point on the road and we learned a ton about our team and about our players,” said FC Tucson head coach Rick Schantz.

FC Tucson’s lone goal came in the 74th minute off a corner kick from Saeed Robinson. Midfielder Aaron Long made a near-post run toward the right side of the goalmouth and fired a header toward the net that bounced off a Los Angeles defender before going in.

It was the crowning moment of what had been a very productive half for Long. The UC Riverside product was a second-half sub for Tyler Wilson and made the most of his 45 minutes. According to Schantz, Long’s work rate was high and the midfielder was all over the field, disrupting the Misioneros’ attacks and helping FC Tucson (0-0-1) push forward.

“It was extremely hot so I knew (Los Angeles) was going to be a little bit tired from playing the first half, so I just wanted to press them a bit,” Long said.

Los Angeles (0-1-1) opened the match’s scoring when a free kick from about 30 yards outside of the goal was deflected on its way to the net. Starting keeper William Thompson had the shot read but had no chance at getting in front of the deflection.

Despite allowing the tough-luck goal, defender Travis Campbell said the team was still confident.

“I don’t think we were too worried because we knew we had them” Campbell said. “Toward the end of the first half they were dying out because they weren’t as fit as us.”

FC Tucson’s next match will be on Tuesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. against the Phoenix FC Wolves in the opening round of the U.S. Open Cup. The club’s next PDL match will be on Saturday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m. against the Southern California Seahorses. Both matches will be played at the Kino Sports Complex North Grandstand.

The 2013 PDL championship can’t be won until August 2013. But I believe strongly it can be lost long before that.

I am the general manager and technical director of FC Tucson and my job is to assemble the best 26 PDL players on our roster by our opening match on May 11th. I am determined to win the offseason and outwork my counterparts in assessing and acquiring players.

To me, failure is not an option.

The journey started last July on the ride back from our season ending first-round playoff loss to Seattle Sounders U-23 in Ventura, CA. I reported back to all my player sources, college and otherwise. I told them who made the grade, who didn’t have what it takes and who can change our fortunes next year. Head Coach Rick Schantz and I worked out what kind of players we wanted and how many in each position. He trusts me as long as I deliver a group that works hard and can play.

The search began in August by watching Fox Soccer Channel College game of the week. Then there was watching internet streams of games from the North, South, East and West. Then I looked at the all-conference selections.

I was on the phone every day with coaches. Sometime they were trying to convince me. Other times, I was convincing them. A typical conversation might go like this: “Jon, he is the hardest worker on the team” “Maybe in practice…you played him in 4 games all season.” My relationships with some coaches are as long as 15 years. And sometimes they can be broken in 15 minutes. My job requires having an eye for detail, being honest, and trusting those in my circle who have earned it. But you always have to take some risks.

January open tryouts come and go. We always want guys from Tucson, but we also need guys that can inspire the next generation of Tucson players. We’re here to win. I have to find guys who can handle the heat here in Tucson, both physically and mentally. Can they handle the training, being pulled, being off the roster or coming off the bench? I want guys who can handle the pressure of hostile fans and even more hostile competition at their position. Emails, resumes, Youtube videos… it never stops. The phone calls and texts pile up.

Now, it’s April. I think the roster is done but everyday something happens. Players opt out, but others call once a day just for a look. Then the coach you couldn’t get a hold of earlier, now calls. The player that was drafted by an MLS club gets released. The free agent player that has graduated is still looking for a team.

They didn’t want FC Tucson and now they don’t want anything else. Practice games are held. Is there one more diamond in the rough? Registrations, international clearance forms, jobs, houses, food. All these deals must be closed. And I’m still making up a roster at the last minute.

We’re in May. Our first match of the season is this Sunday. The players have arrived. We test them. They test themselves. They test each other. The real test is Sunday. There will be nowhere to hide for them.

Or for me.

2013 FC Tucson Schedule