Arizona United wins inaugural match of 2015 USL Season

What a difference a year makes.

Arizona United Soccer Club, after having mere weeks to pull a team together prior to its 2014 campaign, suffered a lopsided but not unexpected 4-0 loss to OKC Energy FC in its first ever game as a franchise last season.

Fast forward to 2015 and the impact of having a proper off-season and pre-season were apparent following the Arizona United's 2-1 victory over the Orange County Blues in a game played at Anteater Stadium in Irvine, Calif., on Saturday.

The core of early off-season signings, coupled with more recent additions to the roster staved off early possession domination and late-game barrages by Orange County to preserve the team's win.

Arizona United struck first during the game's 19th minute when Dennis Chin received a patient and unselfish pass from Long Tan and fired a shot from 25 yards out that looped its way over Blues goal keeper Billy Thompson to the far post for the 1-0 lead.

Just minutes later Arizona United scored on a set-piece as Victor Munoz arced a free kick over the OC Blues back line to find Robbie Derschang breaking toward goal. Derschang snapped the ball back across the grain with his head, beating Thompson on the play to give United a 2-0 lead midway through the first half.

Arizona United's Robbie Derschang (right) snaps a header toward goal for his team's second goal during a 2-1 victory against the Orange County Blues.

Overall, Arizona United Head Coach Michael Dellorusso was pleased with his team's effort in it's first contest of the season.

"It was decent. It's a work in process," Dellorusso said following the game. "You can see the talent is there.  It's just getting them in game situations like this."

Dellorusso also acknowledged that early game jitters may have needed to be calmed before United settled in to game flow.

"We know both teams were going to be anxious," Dellorusso added. "A lot of tactics and technical ability go out the window in the first 10 to 15 minutes.

"It's not going to be perfect in game one. It was good to see [the players] link together. They're getting much more comfortable with each other. It's a step in the right direction for sure."

Arizona United goal keeper Carl Woszczynski made a strong case for man of the match with key saves during the games last 20 minutes. Woszczynski batted two goal-bound headers out of danger and cleared a dangerous ball in congestion to keep the Blues from doing any further damage.

Arizona United goal keeper Carl Woszczynski stretches to make a save late in the game to preserve a 2-1 lead over the Orange County Blues.

Woszczynski was also quick to praise the defenders that played in front of him to minimize the scoring opportunities for Orange County.

"Whenever you go up on a team on the road you know the second half is going to have a lot of...balls dumped in especially at the end," Woszczynski said.  "I thought my defense did very well in front of me. Besides two or three saves I didn't have a lot of saves to make. They won a ton of those balls in air."