There might be a new face in goal, but Sounders FC 2 is looking forward to seting the record straight against Arizona United SC this Sunday at Starfire Stadium.
After suffering a 2-1 road loss at the hands of Arizona in the heat of Scottsdale earlier this season, S2 returns home to host the surging United who have taken three wins of its last five matches.
“Arizona is a good club, and they beat us on their home turf even though we feel like we played a pretty good game,” said S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. “We are confident in how we play and want to keep our streak at home going this Sunday.”
Following S2’s loss to Arizona, the club responded with two consecutive shutout victories, with goalkeeper Charlie Lyon making a career-high 10 saves against Real Monarchs. However, the Rave Green could be without Lyon as he could be up with the Sounders FC First Team, given Stefan Frei‘s shoulder injury.
New signing Tyler Miller, Sounders FC’s Second Round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, joined the club officially on Thursday, having spent the last few months with SVN Zweibrücken in the German fourth division.
“I am excited for the opportunity to play with S2, and I’m going to focus on building good relationships with those players,” said Miller. “I’m looking forward to the next six months in Seattle and seeing what we can do.”
Arizona United SC visits Starfire with a 3-4-1 road record, and sits in sixth place in the USL Western Conference, the final playoff position. The club has the fewest goals scored by a playoff team with 19, with a minus-eight goal differential.
Long Tan is the leading goalscorer for Arizona United SC (7) including the game-winning goal against S2 on June 20. Tan earned USL Player of the Week honors in Week Nine.
Jonathan Top also scored in the previous meeting between the two clubs, equalizing in the 60th minute.
S2 defender Nick Miele scored his second goal of the season in the previous meeting, heading home a Pablo Rossi free kick to take the lead in the first half.
Kickoff for Sunday’s match is at 5:00 p.m. PT, and will be live-streamed on SoundersFC.com. Tickets to the match are available here.