FC Tucson misses 2 penalty kicks, wins big anyway

FC Arizona made the trip to Kino North Stadium on Wednesday night with a record of three wins in three league games, but they walked off the field on the wrong end of a 4 - 0 result against home side FC Tucson.

Despite the final score, the visitors had the first look at the goal. A fifth-minute solo charge upfield got one of Arizona’s forwards into the box. FC Tucson’s Patrick Strauss broke up the play with a smart tackle.

It ended up being one of the few times FC Arizona threatened in the first half. FC Tucson had nearly constant possession, much of it on FC Arizona’s side of the field. The home team’s deliberate passing and use of the full width of the field stood in contrast with the get-the-ball-up-field-and-pray-for-the-best tactics that the visitor’s were forced to adapt.

The pressure paid off in the 13th minute with Adrian Camacho getting the ball away from an FC Arizona defender and taking a left-footed shot from inside the box. The shot beat the keeper and gave FC Tucson the lead.

A chance to extend that lead came in minute 40 when Brendan Clark was taken down in the box. It fell to goal scorer Camacho to take the penalty kick. The prowess that Camacho showed earlier in the match failed him as the shot bounced off an upright.

Whatever disappointment Camacho felt was cured within moments when he set up Kainan Dos Santos to score the team’s second goal.

FC Tucson’s pressure kept going in the second half and earned the team another penalty kick in minute 70. This time Carlos Armendáriz stepped up to the spot, but the result was the same as in the first half: a miss.

That left the team to have to grow their lead with shots from the field. Ethan Stevenson, who previously played for Brazos Valley Cavalry FC, scored in minute 77. The final goal came from Peyton Montiel in minute 85.

It was a strong win by a Tucson side that has only been training together for a little more than a week.

“We didn’t practice much, but we already have a good idea what the coach wants,” said Adrian Camacho, who was named ‘player of the match’ on the team’s social media. “Tonight, we just chose how we want to play. We want to have the ball every time and we want to create chances.”

FC Arizona, in the end, was left with few opportunities to score. Coach Mark Biagi was very pleased with his possession tactics and how the team executed them.

“We’re going to be a team that wants a lot of the ball,” he said. “We were stringing together eight, 10, 15 passes repeatedly, which makes it tough…the other team doesn’t have the ball.”

FC Tucson opens league play on Saturday with a road match against Redlands FC.