First Kick

It's Coming
If the season starts Friday, which it better, the first kick is going to be big. California Cup big! "Opening week is great. Everyone starts off 0-0 and has high expectations." Union SC is no different. The club is hopeful for a successful campaign, and believes another championship is a serious possibility. What better way to validate that belief than by challenging the Gold Coast for early dominance.

Great Result Heading into Derby

MVP!!
UNION SC 5 KC QUEST 2 - Final

Week 17- The Blues Designated Player earned his keep once again as Chris Wondolowski scored 3 goals and 1 assist to help easily defeat the KC Quest. "This was a must-win match with KC at the bottom of the standings. Now there remains a reasonable chance at the Majors Cup. The club just needs to put some wins together." Next on the schedule is Gold Coast FC. The Blues have a small 1 point edge in the aggregate, so a tie would win the 2012 California Cup. However, the mission must be a full 3 points. "Nothing would be sweeter then to stay in the race at the expense of the Gold Coast!" In preparation for this huge game, Union SC has signed Luis Silva upon releasing Diego Chara from the roster.

Game LineUp for Week 18 versus Gold Coast FC.
Starters: Wondolowski, Pappa, Fernandez, Caskey, R.Johnson, Alonso, Arnaud, Silva, Pickens(GK). Subs: Edu(1) Evans(2), Buddle(3)

Union SC 4 - 6 Rose City

RECAP WEEK 4: It's the same story as last week and the week before that. Union SC is competitve, but just can't win. Against Rose City FC, the Blues fell behind quick and by a wide margin when Maicon Santos, who hadn't even scored a single point so far this season, decided to erupt for 3 points on Friday. "This guy probably won't score 3 more points all season if you ask me, but he took advantage of the squad this week. I guess everyone is going to pad their stats when they visit." said the Blues owner. Union SC did fight back like previous weeks and made a game of it. "Offense is not the problem. Its defense! Its karma! Its whatever you want to call it. Bottom line is this club needs wins!" SCORERS: Wondoloski(G), Buddle(A), Pickens(CS SP). CARDS: Alonso(Y).

CALIFORNIA CUP 2012 - LEG 1
Next match is against the Blues biggest rival. Gold Coast FC has also been struggling. So the first leg of the California Cup is not even the Game of the Week. Both clubs are sure to want 3 points next week and take the first leg. A speechless and frustrated Union SC representative was quoted in saying "A win is badly needed, but beating the Suns will be the best medicine of all. It will satisfy real nice indeed. The California Cup is extremely important."

Blue vs Burgundy

It is never too early to start talking about how eager Union SC is defeat Gold Coast next match. The Suns have made every attempt possible to field a quality team and desperately want to take the California Cup away from the Blues. "It's not going to happen!!!!! Short of signing Messi to come play for their club, the Cup will stay where it is now." said the Blues owner. All-Time Gold Coast has won 2 of 3 meetings including a Majors Cup game, but the regular season series went to Union SC thanks to points differential. Omar Bravo will not be available for this match and it will time to take advantage of that.

The California Cup Continues in 2011

With the schedule out for the 2011 season Union SC now knows the order of opponents the club will have to go through to repeat as BSL Champions. On top of that list is its California Cup rivals Gold Coast FC. The Blues first leg against the Suns comes up early in week 3. This will be the first meeting since Union SC lost 6-5 in the Majors Cup Semi Finals. "It was a huge defeat. The club would have defeated Seattle in the Final and had a double, instead the Majors trophy went to the criminals up North" said the Blues owner. The 2nd leg will be Week 17 where the Blues will try and win the California Cup again.

Game ReCap #2: How the west was won

After a war of the words it was time to play some ball for the California Cup. Union S.C. began the game off with a bang when Dwayne DeRosario scored the first goal. He was later accompanied by a Joseph assist and a Zakuani goal, before the man protecting the net, Donovan Ricketts, scored another clean sheet. All together it was an impressive victory for the squad. Even though Sebastian LeToux decided to deliver quite possibly his best game in his professional career sitting on the bench, the overall outlook is a positive one for the Blues.

It was a big match and a big win. The three points put Union S.C. in great position after 2 games. Technically, the club is in 3rd place thanks to its APG, but its way to early to worry about tiebreakers.

Union S.C. 4
GOALS: DeRosario, Zakuani, LeToux-3(DNC) ASSISTS: Joseph CLEAN SHEET: None
RED CARDS: None YELLOW CARDS: None

Gold Coast 2
GOALS: Alvarez ASSISTS: Lenhart CLEAN SHEET: None
RED CARDS: None YELLOW CARDS: None

Derby adds to a pressure packed start to the season

Is it possible to be in a must-win game going into only the second game of the new season. In reality ofcourse not, but the feeling around the Blues training grounds is giving that vibe. It's hard enough to put aside a disappointing loss, but when that loss is followed by a game verses Gold Coast F.C., well you can understand why the stakes are pretty high.

Its all about respect and Union S.C. is determined to squeeze that respect right out its California Cup opponent. The Blues are eager and confident that they will win. Big game players like Conor Casey and Sasha Kljestan are bound to have improved performances and get some shots on goal. However, the fact remains that a defeat would put the Blues at the bottom of the table and in the position of having to play catch-up very early in the season.

April 10th is going to be a huge game by all accounts.