CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – The Grande Sports Academy home of the Real Salt Lake Arizona Academy team will be on the road against this weekend, as the U-18 Elite team will travel down to Tucson for their first match in the Arizona State League.
The RSL U-18 Elite team will face Fort Lowell ’96 Red Bulls at Tucson Gold Links, field D; kickoff is set for 8:55 a.m. PST.
NOTE: The U-16 will play the following weekend in Scottsdale.
This is the first year the RSL Elite teams will participate in the Arizona State League, which offers highly competitive matches on the weekends for team not participating in a tournament. The Arizona State League is also set up with a promotion and relegation system for the eight teams per division. Because this is the first year the RSL Elite teams will be participating in the Arizona State League, the U-18 & U-16 teams have been allocated to the second division. At the end of the year the top two teams in the second division will move up the first division, while the bottom two teams from the first division will move down.
The Arizona State League for the U-15 age groups and higher will finish the season before the high school season starts in late November.
Last Week:
The Elite teams participated in the 2013 Tuzos Challenge in Phoenix and showed improvement from North Huntington Beach Cup, which was the week before. The U-16 team won their group and advanced to the U-16 finals and defeated Fuerza Azul 4-1 on Sunday afternoon to claim the U-16 title. The U-18 Elite team finished second in their group.