Chula Vista FC

2015 US Open Cup Round 1: Chula Vista win tournament debut in OT, 2-1 over FC Tucson (video)

May 17, 2015 by Ted Prezelski

Chula Vista and FC Tucson players battle for the ball. Photo: BensonactionFoto | FC Tucson

In 2013, FC Tucson completed a remarkable run in the US Open Cup, defeating two pro teams before being stopped by the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. They hoped to repeat that performance this year.

It is not going to happen. FC Tucson saw defeat at home to USASA club Chula Vista FC 2-1.

FC Tucson’s David Clemens, Odaine Sinclair and Brandon Zambrano each had strong chances in the first half that tested Chula Vista’s Sebastian Ortiz. A clean first half ended with neither team scoring.

FC Tucson opened up the scoring in the 58th minute with a shot from Zambrano. The home side started to let Chula Vista have too much of the ball and paid for it in the 82nd minute when Gilberto Perez-Lopez equalized moments after coming on as a substitute. The game would be dragged into a half hour of overtime.

Chula Vista won their first lead of the match four minutes into overtime with a goal from Angel Pinal.

This photo shows FC Tucson's controversial missed penalty kick. The referee ruled that Eddie Sanchez missed the penalty kick. Photo: Joshua Pearson — This photo shows FC Tucson’s controversial missed penalty kick. The referee ruled that Eddie Sanchez missed the penalty kick. Photo: Joshua Pearson

Later in the extra period, a Chula Vista player ran down FC Tucson’s Dom Papa in the box. The ensuing penalty kick became one of many controversies in the overtime. Eddie Sanchez lined up to take the kick, and it seemed to hit the crossbar and bounced out of the goal. Observers in the press box thought it hit the top netting, but the referee ruled that it did not cross the line.

The last portion of overtime was a yellow card laden affair, but Chula Vista outlasted FC Tucson for their very first US Open Cup win.

“My concern was, could we last 90 minutes?” said Chula Vista FC coach J. Hector Diaz. “Then, we had to last a little bit longer. That was the difficult part. We were lucky to get the win.”

“It means a lot. It’s something special,” he said about winning the Open Cup. “These kids understand the importance of the Open Cup…they see the FA Cup and know that this is something special for us.”

Chula Vista FC moves on to face Arizona United SC in Scottsdale on May 20.

Full match replay: Chula Vista FC at FC Tucson

Meet the Underdogs: First-timers Chula Vista FC enter US Open Cup to build ‘a club for life’

May 12, 2015 by Ted Prezelski

Every year, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup includes a new batch of amateur clubs hoping to be the tournament’s latest Cinderella story. And every year, TheCup.us introduces soccer fans across the country to these teams that have been the heart and soul of this competition for more than a century. This year, we are expanding our annual “Meet the USASA” series to include the USSSA and US Club Soccer. We bring you “Meet the Underdogs.”

It can be hard to ask a coach or team official to pick out one or two stars of the team. It takes all eleven guys out there, working as a unit, to give a win. Still, when Hector Diaz, Director of Soccer for Chula Vista FC had to answer that question, he had a name.

“One guy in particular I would point out, because he got me into this, is Alberto Diaz,” he said. “He’s my brother.”

Fraternal connections aside, Alberto Diaz’s situation is common among Chula Vista’s players. He had talent recognized from an early age (he played for the US Under-15 team), but like many of the players who have gone through Chula Vista FC’s youth academy, didn’t see college as an option.

“There is not really a chance for these players to go to college,” Hector Diaz said. “We decided to build the next step. Our first team is composed of U-23 players … we are building a club for life and not just a youth club.”

Organizing a youth academy is difficult given the schedules of working class families, but the area doesn’t lack for talent. Joe Corona and Paul Arriola, both players with Tijuana Xolos, come from the area. Alejandro Guido, also a player for Tijuana, played for Chula Vista FC. All three players are part of the US national team pool.

Chula Vista FC’s academy works in the shadows of both the Nomads academy in La Jolla and Tijuana’s academy on the other side of the border. Add that to the local popularity of the Xolos, it can be intimidating, but Diaz thinks there is a strong market for a local soccer team. “We could have a MLS, USL Pro or PDL team here,” he said.

The team staged an exhibition between Chula Vista’s U-20s and Xolos’s U-20 team two years ago. They sold out a small high school stadium.

“There weren’t a lot of Xolos supporters,” Diaz said. “Xolos scored and everyone was quiet. Chula Vista scored and everyone was making noise. People are hungry, they just don’t have an option.”

This is the first appearance in the US Open Cup for Chula Vista, who qualified out of Region IV of the United States Adult Soccer Association. They finished runner-up in the Region IV tournament in a competition that came down to the final day. On June 8, 2014 in Orem, Utah, Cal FC and Chula Vista found themselves in a three-way tie for first place in the group standings with Cal FC and Oregon’s IPS Marathon Taverna. With one game left on the final day, Cal FC shut out a shorthanded PSA Elite team 3-0, while CV drew 2-2 with Marathon Taverna.

Chula Vista FC drew FC Tucson for their opening US Open Cup match on May 13. Diaz is familiar with the management of the team (he’s tried to arrange scrimmages before) but admits that he’ll need some preparation before the team hops on I-8 for the ride to the Old Pueblo.

“This upcoming month, I know I’ll get very familiar with who they are,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”