Blitzz look for revenge against Fresno

It's been an interesting, mostly positive week for the Utah Blitzz. Coach Chris Agnello hopes it ends with a bang.

The Blitzz (0-0-2) travel to the Fresno Fuego (0-0-0) with revenge on their minds Saturday night.

Fresno humiliated the Blitzz in the first round of last year's U.S. Open Cup with a 4-0 victory.

"Last year when we went in there, the guys felt like they deserved the victory," Agnello said. "This year we feel like we're the underdog."

They may be underdogs, but the talent is there to win going away, especially with the newcomers. Utah just resigned Fadi Afash, who scored 19 goals for Utah in 2001 before signing with Portland of the A-League. The following year his 18 goals led the A-League, but an injury-plagued season limited him to four goals last year.

Agnello hopes Afash's presence up top sparks a stagnant offense.

Utah battled to a pair of ties (0-0, 1-1) last weekend against California, even though one was originally a loss. After a 0-0 regulation and overtime, the ref insisted the teams go into a shootout. Even though Agnello knew the ref was wrong — league games should end in ties — he went along with it anyway. Utah lost the shootout, which was a double whammy because it was a U.S. Open Cup qualifier.

The league quickly changed the result back to a tie when it learned of the ref's blunder on Monday.

Utah also recently signed Portland central defender Ryan Youngblood. He was expected to start the season with the A-League, but the Timbers didn't have room on their roster anymore after they picked up a pair of released MLS players.

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