U.S. Open Cup - Lights vs Tucson - Things to Know

The Lights prepare to play FC Tucson in the U.S. Open Cup this Wednesday night. It is (sort of) a home game, in that it is taking place at UNLV's field instead of the usual venue at Cashman (I'm guessing because the 51s play the day before and it's too quick of a turnaround to get the grass laid, but I'm not really sure).

I'm not going to sit here and pretend I knew the first thing about FC Tucson before I just spent a few minutes googling them. But I will share my now-vast knowledge with you:

They play in the PDL (Premier Development League), which is essentially the U.S.'s version of division three soccer, which means they are one division below us. They are a semi-pro team that was recently purchased and is now a farm team for Phoenix's USL team. They seem to be quite good in their division - but keep in mind that the teams in their division include other semi-pro teams, including U-23 academy teams from MLS clubs, and even amateur teams. For example, one of the teams in FC Tucson's division is the BYU Cougars - which most of you will probably recognize is a college club team.

My point is, Las Vegas should be winning this game. True, we will probably see a rotated side, as the Lights have a league game this weekend to worry about. But regardless of rotation, the Lights should have the talent to win this game.

In a way, this is the perfect opportunity for the Lights to break their 5-game winless run, and build some momentum for the league.

While a win Wednesday wouldn't improve out league position, in a weird way, U.S. Open Cup games are almost more (ok maybe equally) important. For most teams, both in Europe and here in the U.S., the clubs in the top division frequently turn up their nose at cup competitions. Teams rotate heavily, sometimes to the point where they are accused of throwing the game, because the fact is that at the top level, there re bigger fish to fry.

We, however, are not at the top level. And the fact is that for USL clubs like ourselves, if we make a deep run in the U.S. Open Cup, it could work wonders for the club's prestige (though not necessarily the finances - the winners get $250,000, which would be a decent chunk for a club our size, but certainly wouldn't launch us into a new stratosphere). The point is that if you asked your standard American MLS fan, they would probably not be able to tell you who won the USL trophy last year. But I bet a fair few of them would be able to tell you that FC Cincinnati knocked out an MLS team in the Open Cup.

Now, we are a long way from any rounds that would give us an opportunity to do that, but you have to take your first step, and for the Lights, that comes on Wednesday against FC Tucson.

So here's to a win, some momentum for the weekend, and who knows, maybe even a chance to pull off an upset somewhere down the line.

-VSB