The third night of the Desert Diamond Cup will feature five Major League Soccer clubs and a number of American soccer stars.
However, the best match — and matchup — just might feature two local teams.
FC Tucson and Arizona United will square off at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kino North Grandstand. The afternoon showdown will kick off a four-match day spread over two fields.
FC Tucson will not only face a heated rival but a familiar face. Arizona United midfielder Peter Kelly played for FC Tucson in the 2014 Desert Diamond Cup, then spent the Premier Development League season with the Men in Black. He suited up with Saint Louis FC in the United Soccer League last season.
“With Tucson I feel like it’s kinda like a second home for me and I can get into a good groove and I really enjoy playing for them,” Kelly said.
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Kelly played in the second half in Arizona United’s Desert Diamond Cup debut, a 0-0 draw with Swope Park Rangers on Saturday.
Kelly said he had already talked to FC Tucson general manager Jon Pearlman and coach Rick Schantz about playing against the back-to-back PDL Mountain Division champions.
“It will be weird,” Kelly said. “We just kinda laughed and said, ‘It’s going to be kind of interesting’ and I said I’d take it easy on them, but I know Pearlman can put together a great team and Rick’s a great coach, so I know they’ll be well-prepared. So it will be a hard game, but it will be fun.”
FC Tucson officials will have mixed emotions Wednesday. While they’re proud of what former club members have accomplished, seeing them as the enemy — if only for 90 minutes — can be difficult.
“Ideally it would be better if we were playing against Peter in the third round in the Open Cup in an MLS jersey,” Pearlman said, “but it’s always great to see players that are able to get contracts — and it’ll be fun.”
Pearlman said he likes Kelly so much that he pushed to get him another USL opportunity after he declined an option to return to St. Louis.
“I’m sure some words will be exchanged by the players and the coaches and that’s part of the fun of preseason,” Pearlman said. “At the end of the day we’re extremely proud of Peter.”
And Kelly is the type of player Arizona United wants, assistant coach Marc Bircham said.
“Peter’s done excellent, I think,” Bircham said. “He’s a fit lad, great attitude, a great team player and he’s very versatile. I can see Peter playing at center back, play outside back, he can play center midfield, so that sort of player we want our squad to be like, very enthusiastic, very upbeat.”
Kelly and Bircham are just two of the recent additions for Arizona United, which has experienced major turnover since last season.
Arizona United was affiliated with FC Dallas of the MLS but is now independent. The club recently hired former Canadian men’s national team coach Frank Yallop, who serves as the club’s coach and president of soccer operations. Arizona United plays in Peoria.
“It’s like a new franchise,” Bircham said. “We had five signed players so we’ve got to get a whole squad together and try and hit the ground running.
Kelly said it’s “awesome” playing for Yallop, who served as an MLS coach for 13 years, winning two MLS Cups and two MLS Coach of the Year Awards. Yallop has the fifth-most wins in MLS history with 117.
“You work hard to impress him because he’s such a great coach,” he said.
Still, FC Tucson isn’t likely to be intimidated Wednesday. The local club has an ardent group of supporters, the Cactus Pricks, and has been playing well throughout the past month. The club beat the defending MLS champion Portland Timbers in early February.
The rivalry between FC Tucson and Arizona United is “something we can definitely build on going into the future,” Arizona United goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski said.
Arizona United would have hosted FC Tucson in the second round of last year’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but Chula Vista FC upset FC Tucson in the opener. Chula Vista FC then beat United 3-0.
“I think they’ll have a great squad right now, a lot of guys looking to get into MLS preseason or just released from MLS trying to find teams,” Woszczynski said. “There’s going to be a lot of guys on their team, fighting, working hard. It should be a great match.”
