La Máquina is an American amateur football club, based out of the
Santa Ana, California area, in
central Orange County, competing in the
United Premier Soccer League
The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...
. The club takes its name and identity from
Cruz Azul
Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
of
Liga MX, and was formed as a branch of the Irvine Premier Soccer Club's FC Golden State, for competing in the UPSL.
U.S. Open Cup record
2016
La Máquina entered the
2016 U.S. Open Cup, in the first round against the
Portland Timbers U-23 of the
Premier Development League, and advanced to the second round by defeating the Timbers by a score of 2–0. La Máquina qualified to the First Round of the 2016 U.S. Open Cup by defeating
2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 102nd edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer.
The tournament had teams from all three tiers of men's professional soccer, plus teams from the top amateur leagues in the United State ...
Chula Vista FC by a score of 4–0.
La Máquina defeated the
Sacramento Gold of the
National Premier Soccer League
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the Uni ...
by a score of 2–0 in the second round of the Open Cup on May 18, 2016 at Westminster High School in
Westminster, California
Westminster is a city in northern Orange County, California, known for its many Vietnamese refugees who immigrated to the city during the 1980s. They settled largely in Little Saigon, and the city is known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnam ...
and advanced to face fellow UPSL side
LA Wolves FC
L.A. Wolves FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Torrance, California. They are named after the Los Angeles Wolves who played in the United Soccer Association in 1967 and in the North American Soccer League in 1968.
The club feature ...
in a historic face off putting two new clubs and leagues in the third round. This was the first Open Cup for both teams.
On June 1, 2016, La Máquina defeated L.A. Wolves in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup and advanced to the following round to face the
LA Galaxy at the
StubHub Center
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...
on June 14, 2016.
On June 14, 2016, La Máquina faced the LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA and fell in extra time by a score of 4–1, after a controversial goal was allowed by the referee in favor of the Galaxy. The match commentators said that the final score was not reflective of how the match played out, given that La Máquina held the Galaxy to a 1–1 tie for 90 minutes. Although there were questionable calls in the match, La Máquina had a man advantage for about 70 minutes of regulation time, after Galaxy midfielder Rafael García was ejected from the game upon receiving a straight red card on a foul to La Máquina's midfielder Ramiro Zurdo Díaz. La Máquina were incapable of closing the game in regulation time.
2016 Qualifying
La Máquina qualified to their first U.S. Open Cup in two qualifying rounds. There were to be three elimination rounds, but the U.S. Soccer Federation used its discretion to qualify the winners of the second qualifying rounds, due to the restructuring of the tournament that took place that year.
2017
La Máquina qualified to their second consecutive U.S. Open Cup, in two qualifying rounds, by defeating Orange County FC and
Santa Ana Winds FC in late 2016. However, the club would not match the deep run they made the year prior, after being eliminated in the first round by
Fresno Fuego
Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club drew an av ...
of the
Premier Development League.
2017 Qualifying
2018
La Máquina qualified to their third consecutive U.S. Open Cup on November 19, 2017 by defeating
Chula Vista FC of the So Cal Premier League by a score of 4–1. La Máquina defeated fellow UPSL club Bell Gardens FC in the first round and
Las Vegas Mobsters in the second round by forfeit.
2018 Qualifying
Year by year
La Máquina was suspended from Spring 2016 UPSL play for being involved in a brawl with fellow league club
San Nicolas FC in 2015, however, La Máquina returned to the UPSL after serving a six-game suspension.
Squad
The following players formed La Máquina's 2016 U.S. Open Cup squad:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Maquina FC
United Premier Soccer League teams
Soccer clubs in Greater Los Angeles
Sports in Santa Ana, California