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Region IV qualifying this weekend
Hollywood United, Banat Arsenal, six others vie for two Open Cup spots
Region IV of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) will determine its entrants in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz. The eight teams in the qualifying tournament are split into two groups, with each group winner advancing to the Open Cup.
Banat Arsenal, last year's Region IV runner-up, are joined in Group B by Hollywood United, San Diego United and the Santa Cruz County Breakers. The Arizona Sahuaros, who fell one game short of qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup last year, play Rockstar United, Salinas County Samba (2005 U.S. Open Cup entrants) and the Sonoma County Sol (2005 and 2006 U.S. Open Cup entrants) in Group A. Each team will play one game on Friday, May 16 and two games on Saturday, May 17.
Of the eight entrants, five play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL): Salinas County, Sonoma County and Santa Cruz are members of the Northwest Conference, with San Diego United and the Arizona Sahuaros in the Southwest Conference.
The Sol, who finished fourth in the NPSL last season, have tied their first two matches of the 2008 season and are seeking their third Open Cup berth. The Samba, who advanced to the second round of the Open Cup in 2005, enter this weekend’s tournament off a pair of defeats, including a 7-1 pasting by Santa Cruz. The Sahuaros, in their first season in the NPSL, have three Open Cup appearances: 1998, 1999 and 2006.
Hollywood United is made up of a collection of former professional soccer players, members of the entertainment community and local players. Some of the more prominent members of this team are 1998 World Cup champion Frank Leboeuf, former U.S. National team player and current Los Angeles Galaxy President Alexi Lalas, Allen Hopkins of ESPN, Galaxy Director of Soccer Paul Bravo and actor Anthony Lapaglia.
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