Omar Avalos

Musician by trade, soccer writer by chance. Has contributed to Soccer Newsday, SB Nation, The Guardian US and TheCup.us. Created soccer blogs The Saint City Post and The Angeltown Post. Proud alum of Cal State Fullerton and Santa Ana College. Read his soccer writings HERE

2017 US Open Cup Round 2: One mistake in extra time sends LA Wolves past Chula Vista FC

May 23, 2017 by Omar Avalos

Soccer observers truly keen on LA Wolves and Chula Vista FC expected an even match by two clubs with similar possession-based style. This one had the makings of a chess match, a coach’s game, one in which the first team to make a mistake would pay dearly. It took 115 minutes for that mistake to occur in the form of a penalty kick awarded to the Wolves that striker Paolo Cardozo slammed into the upper right corner with a left-footed shot, enough to lift LA Wolves over Chula Vista 1-0. The win sets up a third round match with USL side Orange County SC, once again at Azusa Pacific University.

The match was a deadlock all throughout, with the Wolves creating some chances, but with greater difficulty and certainly less comfort than their first round match versus San Diego Zest. The few clear chances that they did create ended poorly, complicating the game for them.

And complicated it most certainly was for LA Wolves who had 5 yellow cards on the night, 2 of them in the first half, and 2 more by the 65th minute. This was a testament to CVFC’s individual skill on possession, with their players able to create their own space and get forward, needing to be cut down by fouls. CVFC had two yellow cards on the night and a pardoned card very late in the match on a tackle from behind on striker Chuck Pitts that very easily could’ve been a yellow, if not a red card.

After the match, Wolves head coach Eric Wynalda said, “We’re lucky to get through. We are. We need to say that. We had some injuries prior to the game so we had to shuffle things around in our midfield, and clearly it affected us. You have to really say that there was a lot of great technical ability on the other side of the ball tonight. The only good news is that we didn’t get scored on. Our keeper kept us in the game and we could’ve done better with our chances, but the truth is, all in all it was a very good game.”

When asked if this was the type of match he expected, Wynalda said, “We knew that this was a very good team and they made some additions from the last time we played them. This is what this tournament is about. There’s a lot of passion and a lot of heart.”

Goalscorer Paolo Cardozo said, “It was a very good, very intense match and we came out to fight to the end. Thank God we got the win.” On Chula Vista FC he added, “They’re a very good, very ambitious and difficult rival.”

2017 US Open Cup Round 1: Eric Wynalda leads LA Wolves to opening win over San Diego Zest

May 15, 2017 by Omar Avalos

Head coach Eric Wynalda and his LA Wolves FC got off on the right foot in the club’s opening game of the 2017 US Open Cup with a 4-2 win over the San Diego Zest of the PDL.

With the win, the Wolves advance to the Second Round of the second year in a row and will host San Diego area side Chula Vista FC on May 17.

The Wolves hosted the game at Azusa Pacific University and they were tested early on, with San Diego opting for a rapid, vertical game often times getting their long lobs past defenders. San Diego looked sharper, and the more disciplined unit, in the first 15 minutes, keeping LA Wolves on their heels.

But the Wolves gradually took control and possession and began to generate offense more fluidly, stringing successful passes together, while the Zest could not.

LA’s first goal came in the 37th minute from an attack on the left flank that started with the keeper passing to his left back, who found Miguel Sánchez along the line and connected with him on a long pass. Sánchez then turned, beat his defender and then sent in a long cross to assist Charlie Pitts who scored to make it 1-0 going into halftime.

Wynalda subbed on Pablo Cruz to start the second half due to an injury and his club continued to settle in. The Wolves were taking possession and winning tackles in the midfield, easily dispossessing the Zest.

“We committed one man forward. We had to make an adjustment but Pablo Cruz is the kind of guy you can see,” said Wylanda about his second half sub. “He just possesses beautiful talent, and so when he plays with Paolo Cardozo it’s hard for anybody to figure out how you’re going to defend against those guys.”

LA’s second goal came on a corner kick to the right far post that Miguel Sánchez knocked in during the 61st minute.

The Wolves’ third goal came four minutes later on a flashy combination play and assist between Paolo Cardozo to Pablo Cruz. At this point, LA were commanding the midfield and final third, combining to knock the ball around fluidly.

San Diego got a goal back in the 70th minute from Joseph Fortini, but the Wolves answered back three minutes later to score their fourth on a combination play between Charlie Pitts and Paolo Cardozo. The goal looked to have been scored by Cardozo, but could have been an own goal.

Coach Wynalda attributed a second goal to Pitts, but after match Chris said, “He (Cardozo) put in a cross and I was right there at the ball but the defender got a touch before I did.”

Regardless of how it happened, the goal was generated by that fluid, clever, one-two passing in the box shown by LA.

San Diego got a second goal on a PK caused by a foul by the Wolves keeper near the end of the match. Patrick McGrath stepped to the spot and trimmed the Wolves lead to 4-2, but they would get no closer.

After the game coach Wynalda described the slow start to the game.

“The opening minutes were a little tricky, we saw some nerves on our side,” said Wynalda. “It was important to get this game under our belt so we could really focus on playing what I think these guys are capable of. Those opening minutes were not what we expected.”

2017 Meet the Underdogs: Moreno Valley FC taking SoCal by storm, now the US Open Cup is next

May 8, 2017 by Omar Avalos

Since launching in 2015, Moreno Valley FC has become one of the best amateur teams in California. Photo: Moreno Valley FC

Moreno Valley, Calif. is a city in Riverside County, in the Greater Los Angeles area. The city is located adjacent to the City of Riverside, the county seat.

Moreno Valley FC is the defending USASA Region IV champion, which means that they’re the best California team outside of the USSF professional leagues, and are likely one of the best amateur teams in all of Region IV.

MVFC was formed in 2015 and took the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) by storm in their season debut, finishing first in their conference. The club was picked by the UPSL to represent the league at the Cal South State Cup, which is a qualifying tournament to the USASA Region IV Championship, which the club won.

“I decided to start a competitive team that would represent the city of Moreno Valley,” said owner Will Vicente. “I thank God for our players our fans and all of our supporters for all the support and dedication in this project so far. I hope that my dream would some day come true to have a professional soccer club in this part of the country.

With the Region IV tile under their belt, the club went on to compete for the USASA National Cup, where they fell to the eventual champion, Christos FC of Maryland. Moreno Valley finished fourth in the National Cup, after falling to Legends FC of North Texas, 2-1.

“Mo Val,” as the club is called, competes in the UPSL where they’re regularly tested by traditional regional powerhouses like La Máquina and Strikers South Coast, and who they’ve had success against, both in league and in this year’s Cal South State Cup title defense.

Moreno Valley FC won the USASA Region IV championship in its second year as a club. Photo: Moreno Valley FC.

The club recently defended their title successfully against second place UPSL club Santa Ana Winds FC, and they were set for a title defense against Eric Wynalda’s LA Wolves in the State Cup on May 7 but the game was postponed due to lightning.

MVFC standouts include their captain and ex-Cal Baptist University player, Carlos Figueroa, who led them to their Region IV title, and Brazilian national Jadilson Viera, who played for Tottenham and West Ham from ages 14-16, and for Italian club Varese from ages 17-21. He arrived at MVFC after a season playing for the NPSL’s Boston City.

Moreno Valley FC made their way to the first round of this year’s Open Cup by cruising through a pair of qualifiers against fellow UPSL clubs.

They blanked Ozzy’s Laguna, by a score of 6-0, with the mayor in attendance, Alex Anderson scored a pair of first half goals and it was smooth sailing from there. In the game that ended up being the clincher for the club’s first Open Cup berth, they beat High Desert Rush FC (part of the larger Rush Soccer organization), 5-1. Anderson scored two more and Jadilson Da Silva added a brace on a hot day in Victorville, Calif.

MVFC will make their US Open Cup debut in Round 1 against PDL power Ventura County Fusion on May 10.

2017 US Open Cup Qualifying: Edwin Borboa keeps scoring as La Maquina earns another shutout win

November 1, 2016 by Omar Avalos

Sunday’s 2017 US Open Cup qualifying match between Santa Ana clubs La Máquina and Santa Ana Winds FC came down to capitalizing on scoring opportunities, of which both sides had plenty. La Máquina took advantage of three “soft goal” opportunities given by Winds FC, with a final score of 3-0.

The 2016 US Open Cup co-golden boot winner Edwin Borboa scored and Jose “Chila” Montes de Oca scored two more for La Maquina as the defense earned its second straight shutout to advance to Round 3. However, they dodged a few bullets as the Winds FC attack failed to convert four clear scoring opportunities.

The difference was set in the first half with La Máquina scoring off of two failed clearances by the Winds defense, first in the 8th minute on a goal by Borboa and then 10 minutes later on a shot from distance by Montes de Oca.

The Winds game plan was to attack up the flanks, which created some dangerous chances but ultimately no goal. Outside of the two goals, it did help to slow down the La Máquina midfield commandeered by the Castro Pérez brothers (José and Rosendo), both with Liga de Ascenso experience with Club Dorados de Sinaloa.

The third goal put the game away in the 86th minute, Chila’s second of the night, with Winds FC playing with 10 men after a hamstring injury to a midfielder. La Máquina scored when Winds FC made it easiest for them to do so, something good teams like La Máquina take advantage of. Overall, La Máquina created more dangerous shots on goal and crosses, and hit the post twice and came away with the victory.

With the win, La Maquina earned their second straight clean sheet of the 2017 tournament, and including the last US Open Cup, they have shut out five of their last six opponents. They defeated Orange County FC, 3-0 in the opening round. Their next opponent will be announced in January and the third round will take place in March.

Match report courtesy of The Saint City Post