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Meet the USASA: Arizona Sahuaros
Region IV champions making fourth Open Cup appearance
The Arizona Sahuaros have the unique distinction of qualifying for the Open Cup as a pro team, an independent amateur team and a league-affiliated USASA club.
After the Sahuaros secured their 2008 U.S. Open Cup berth, they defeated Hollywood United 1-0 to claim the Region IV crown and the right to face the other Regional USASA Open Cup champions later this summer in Seattle. Juan Rojas, one of the older players on the team at 28, scored the winning goal off an assist from David Hague.
 What makes the Sahuaros’ qualification more surprising is the fact that the four games played in the Region IV tournament were the first matches of the season the team had played together.
"We’re so excited and we’re so ready for this game," coach Petar Draksin said. "Afterwards we need to be able to look ourselves in the mirror, win or lose, and say that we left it all out on the field."
The Sahuaros began as the Phoenix Hearts in the 1989-1990 season of the Southwest Indoor Soccer League, finishing with a 21-3 record and making it to the league final, where they fell to the Addison Arrows (now the DFW Tornados of the PDL). The team played indoors for three more seasons, while also moving outdoors in 1990.
In 1997, after seven seasons in the PDL, and two name changes (Arizona Cotton in 1992 and Arizona Phoenix in 1996), the club moved up to the D3 Pro League. The most successful seasons the Sahuaros spent in the USL were 1998 and ’99, as they finished 14-4 in 1998 and 13-5 in 1999, while reaching the U.S. Open Cup both years.
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Photo courtesy ArizonaSahuaros/Rose Pajarito
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The next two seasons saw a downturn for the Sahuaros’ fortunes, with losing records each season. After rebounding in 2002 with a 10-7-3 record, the Sahuaros, along with the Chico Rooks and Northern Nevada Aces, left the USL in 2003 to become charter members of the new Men’s Premier Soccer League (which since has become the National Premier Soccer League). The Sahuaros found success quickly in their new league, finishing with a 12-3 record and winning the league championship in 2003, the finishing as runners-up in 2004.
In 2005, the Sahuaros left the NPSL due to differences between the teams’ management and the league and played as an independent USASA club, participating in tournaments and friendly matches. After nearly qualifying for the Open Cup in 2005, the Sahuaros made the cut in 2006, and made the most of their return. The Sahuaros routed the PDL’s BYU Cougars 5-1 in the first round, and narrowly lost to the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL First Division.
"We’re one of the originals from the good old days," Draksin said. "We’ve never stopped playing since we started in 1990. We were without a league for a while, but we continued to play and we’re very proud of that."
The Sahuaros have nine players still with the team from their 2006 Cup appearance, one of them being Ugljesa Vrbica, who will participate in his third straight U.S. Open Cup.
In 2007, the Sahuaros loaned Vrbica and Giber Becerra to El Paso Indios USA, as Indios gave the players an opportunity to catch on professionally with their senior club in Juarez, Mexico. In fact, Vrbica scored two goals in Indios’ 3-1 win over the Sahuaros in the 2007 Region IV semifinals, preventing what would have been three straight Open Cup appearances for Arizona.
One member of the 2006 team that has since moved on is Roger Espinoza, who was drafted 11th overall by the Kansas City Wizards in the 2008 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Espinoza has started in four of his five appearances with the Wizards this season, as well as two starts with their reserve team.
Another player from the 2006 squad who has returned is midfielder David Hague. Hague spent 2007 with the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division, logging 785 minutes over 22 games, as well as scoring four goals and assisting on two others. Hague also made an appearance in the Timbers’ 2-1 loss to the rival Seattle Sounders in the second round of the 2007 tournament. Other holdovers from the 2006 club are Brian Thames and Juan Rojas.
The man who has guided the Sahuaros along the way is Petar Draksin, a man who is no stranger to Arizona soccer. A native of Yugoslavia who got his start in New York City playing in the legendary Cosmopolitan League, moved to Arizona and has been the head coach at Grand Canyon University for the last 16 years.
In 2002 he joined the Sahuaros, and it’s no surprise that many players on their roster also have played for him at GCU, where he led the Antelopes to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1996. Draksin also has served as an assistant at Apollo High School from 1985-1993, helping the team win the Arizona Class 5A State title in 1993.
Draksin recently told the Arizona Republic that he was working on a couple of "surprises" for his roster for the team’s first-round match against Seattle, a number of former professional players who have expressed interest in helping the club make an Open Cup run.
Whenever the city of Phoenix comes up in expansion talks within the United Soccer Leagues or Major League Soccer, Draksin’s name usually comes up. He is extremely passionate about the sport, and wants nothing more than to see the professional game come to Phoenix.
"There’s really no reason for a city the size of Phoenix to be without a professional soccer franchise," he said. "There are about 7 million people in the area, and I know that soccer can succeed here."
While Draksin said that the Sahuaros are happy about their return to the NPSL this year, Draksin admitted that he has had discussions with the USL about a possible professional franchise in the future.
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