FC Arizona rolled past Oxnard Guerreros in a home match Saturday, taking full advantage of its skill and pace to win 4-0.
FC Arizona dominated possession from the get-go, locking down an Oxnard squad that couldn’t seem to put together a quality chance in the first half.
The first goal of the game came off the foot of Kenny McAvoy in the sixth minute, riling up a sizable crowd of 1,136 FC Arizona fans. They had further reason to be riled up as the match progressed and grew more physical.
A number of yellow cards were assessed to Oxnard as its back line stood on its back heels for much of the game.
“The long ball and the switch was on every time,” McAvoy said. “Basically everything started to connect and we were just playing those switch balls.
“We caught them off guard and got a few goals inside by switching it in.”
That strategy paid dividends. In the 17th minute, Cesar Mexia found himself in roughly the same spot as McAvoy and rifled home another goal. It was McAvoy that found Mexia in that spot, too, displaying the vision and chemistry that allows this team to succeed.
At the half, FC Arizona led 2-0.
Oxnard came out of the gates in the second half with a newfound pace and energy, possessing the ball at much greater lengths and finding a few shots on goal. FC Arizona’s defense held strong, though, and their attack added some insurance.
“Any time you score four goals it’s always good,” FC Arizona keeper Andrew Weber said. “I thought we could’ve been a lot cleaner with our passing. In the beginning of the game, we had a lot of energy, but towards the middle and the second half it dropped.”
Despite those visible areas that need cleaning up, FC Arizona tacked on two more goals to give Weber some breathing room.
In the 68th minute, Chris Sanchez possessed the ball on the spot, turned and scored to make it 3-0. 15 minutes later, Chris Ramsell punched in the fourth and final goal with a beautifully curved set piece that just escaped the keeper’s fingertips.
The win moves FC Arizona to 1-0-1 in the NPSL, with another home game on tap next week against Albion SC PROS. Oxnard heads home for a match against Temecula FC on March 25th.
“We wanted to get off to a good start this year and show people that we’re serious,” Ramsell said. “Getting off to an undefeated start really shows people what we’re about.
“The team bonded pretty close pretty fast. A lot of guys know how to play with each other out there.”
