Az in pro soccer: Leroux wins for Boston; 4 punch tickets for Open Cup

Sydney Leroux led her Boston Breakers side in a 1—0 win over league-leading FC Kansas City, while four Arizona players earned places in the U.S. Open Cup final.

Arizona teams

Phoenix FC 0 – Charleston Battery 1

The Wolves dropped their penultimate home game with the only goal coming on a mis-hit header from Scottish player Darren Mackie. Phoenix native David Paul registered one of the team’s only two shots.

Complete write-up of the match.

Arizonans in the pros

Ventura Alvarado, D – Club Necaxa (Ascenso MX, Mexico)

Necaxa was out of league competition this week, but had a Copa Mexico match against Chivas last week. Alvarado didn’t appear in that match. Necaxa returns to league play against Atlético San Luis on Friday.

Liz Bogus, F – Seattle Reign (NWSL)

Bogus, one of the inaugural Pat Tillman Scholars during her time at Arizona State University, had her seventh appearance for the Seattle Reign in a 1 – 0 loss to the Washington Spirit. She was replaced in the match by former Arizona Wildcat Renae Cuéllar.

Nat Borchers, D - Real Salt Lake (MLS)

RSL had two matches in this past week, both ending in victories. Borchers played a full ninety in both, an Open Cup semifinal against the Portland Timbers and a league win against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

Tony Cascio, M - Colorado Rapids (MLS)

Cascio got himself ejected for two yellow cards in an oddball match with Chivas USA that included several missed chances for Colorado, including a missed penalty kick. The team ended the match with nine men and tied with the Goats.

Danny Cruz, M - Philadelphia Union (MLS)

Cruz played 69 minutes, managed three shots and got a yellow card for timewasting in Philly’s 2-0 win over DC United on Saturday.

Renae Cuéllar, F – Seattle Reign (NWSL)

Cuéllar came in towards the end of a 1 – 0 loss to the Washington Spirit. The loss leaves Seattle second from the bottom in the standings and far out of playoff contention with only one game left in the season.

Kiersten Dallstream, D – Seattle Reign (NWSL)

Dallstream played all ninety minutes in her team’s 1–0 loss to the Washington Spirit.

Justin Davis, D – Minnesota United FC (NASL)

Arizona native Davis played all ninety minutes in his team’s first victory of the season, a 3–1 win over the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

Nick DeLeon, M – DC United (MLS)

DeLeon doubled the lead for his side in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday against Chicago. He was given the day off for DC United’s league match against Philadelphia on Saturday.

Mix Diskerud, M – Rosenborg BK (Tippeligaen, Norway)

Rosenborg’s top of the table clash with second place Strømsgodset IF didn’t resolve much. The match ended in a 2–2 tie with the team from Drammen, both team sharing points and Rosenborg still in first place by a scant two points. Diskerud started but subbed out of the game early in the second half.

Trivia note: Strømsgodset sounds like an intimidating name until you find out that it means “The estate of the noble farm by the river Strøm.” Wikipedia, that’s how.

Roger Espinoza, Wigan Athletic FC (Championship, England)

Espinoza came on in the 71st minute in the Community Shield match with Manchester United. Despite the Latics best efforts, they fell to the Premier League champions 2-0.

Brad Evans, M - Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)

Evans created the chance for Mauro Rosales to score Seattle’s first goal of their 2–1 victory over Toronto FC, but fan chatter is all about Clint Dempsey’s debut for the squad.

Robbie Findley, F - Real Salt Lake (MLS)

Findley was pulled after 60 unproductive minutes in RSL’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Wednesday, and was given a rest on Saturday.

Alan Gordon, F - San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)

Gordon came on midway through the second half to replace controversial forward Steven Lenhart in a 2–0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Amy LePeilbet, D - Chicago Red Stars (NWSL)

LePeilbet is recovering from a long term injury and is not expected to play this season.

Sydney Leroux, F – Boston Breakers (NWSL)

It may be a little late for the team to make a turnaround this season, but in the second game under player-coach Cat Whitehill, Leroux led her side in a win over league-leading FC Kansas City. Leroux’s 65th-minute goal turned out to be the only one of the game in a 1–0 shutout of FCKC.

Manya Makoski, M – Sky Blue FC (NWSL)

Makoski played ninety minutes in a 3–3 back and forth contest with Chicago Red Stars. The tie keeps Sky Blue playoff bound in fourth place, and tied on points with third place Portland Thorns and second place Western New York Flash.

Pablo Mastroeni, M - Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)

Mastroeni came on as substitute in a 3–3 match against FC Dallas on Sunday night that featured errors from both sides. The tie leaves both teams, who were pinned to the top of the standings earlier in the season, still on the edge of being sure of making the playoffs.

Brandon McDonald, D – Real Salt Lake (MLS)

McDonald was left unused in either of RSL’s matches last week.

Jessica McDonald, F – Seattle Reign (NWSL)

McDonald was unable to register much in the way of offense for her side and was pulled in the 57th minute in a 1–0 loss to the Washington Spirit.

Sam Monahan, M – FC Honka (Naisten Liiga, Finland)

Monahan didn’t make an appearance in last week’s 1 – 0 win against Pallokissat Kuopo. The field was not devoid of Americans, however. Pallokissat features American Lauren Johnston in goal.

Mike Randolph, D – Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)

Saturday’s match against the Carolina RailHawks started with the team being presented with a trophy for being Spring season champions. Unfortunately, Randolph and the Silverbacks have not started as well this season and are still looking for their first win. The Silverbacks tied the RailHawks 1 – 1.

Luis Robles, G - New York Red Bulls (MLS)

Robles kept his team level throughout the first half against the Columbus Crew, but fell victim to the goal scoring prowess of Federico Higuain twice in the second half. The final score left the Red Bulls in back of Columbus 2 – 0 and ended their winning streak at four games.

Carlos Salcedo, D – Real Salt Lake (MLS)

For a nineteen year old, Salcedo did pretty well for himself, playing a full ninety for his team in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal against Portland on Wednesday and in a league match against Houston on Saturday. RSL won both matches, putting them in both the US Open Cup final and in first place in the league over all.

Rob Valentino, D – Orlando City SC (USL-Pro)

Valentino had the game winning goal in a match against VSI Tampa Bay on Wednesday. The win keeps Orlando tied on points with first place Richmond Kickers, despite some slippage in recent weeks. Valentino also scored a goal on Saturday, this time slipping one past fellow Arizonan Andrew Weber, who was in the pipes for Seattle’s reserve squad.

Andrew Weber, G – Seattle Sounders FC (MLS)

Phoenix native Weber, still on loan from Phoenix FC, played in a Seattle reserve match with Orlando City.