sports

Fantastic 4: Stevenson puts up quad for FC Tucson against visiting Olympians FC

Kamarás seals victory with 5th goal over young soccer squad

Posted May 20, 2023, 4:24 pm

Ted Prezelski
TucsonSentinel.com

Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson forward Mathis Pilon St-Louis takes a shot as he's closed down by the Olympians FC goalkeeper.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelEthan Stevenson opened the scoring with a run past the Olympians goalkeeper in the first half.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson midfielder Danny Garcia heads the ball while under pressure from an Olympians player.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson players salute the crowd after an emphatic 5-1 win over Olympians FC.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelEthan Stevenson celebrates his opening goal with teammates.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson midfielder Rui Reis crosses the ball into the Olympians box in the second half.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson's Gyorgy Kamaras takes a free kick late in the second half.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson attacker Gyorgy Kamaras scores the team's 5th goal in second half stoppage time.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelGyorgy Kamaras celebrates his late goal.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson forward Ethan Stevenson showed fans why he was the leading scorer in USL League 2 last season.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson midfielder Adrian Camacho takes a shot from distance.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson's Adrian Camacho slips away from the tackle of an Olympians FC player.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson starting goalkeeper Casper Mols rises above the crowd in the second half.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFans who attended the match crowded near the top of the stands as the temperature climbed into the 90s.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson forward Ethan Stevenson set a new club record with 4 goals, all in the first half.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelEthan Stevenson scores his fourth goal of the game with a chip over the keeper.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelFC Tucson players take to the field for a noon kickoff against Olympians FC at Kino North Stadium.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelAn Olympians FC free kick is defended by Marco Costa.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelTucson midfielder Carlos Armendariz competes for a header in the first half against Olympians FC.
Joshua Pearson/Tucson SentinelCarne asada was on the menu for fans who attended FC Tucson's match against Olympians FC at Kino on Saturday.

It took only five minutes for Ethan Stevenson to score FC Tucson’s first goal in a noon time match against Olympians FC at Kino North Stadium on Saturday.

Then he scored again… and again… and so on… as he ended up with four goals before the half-hour mark.

“It’s quite an accomplishment at any level and I’m proud of him,” said coach Mark Biagi. “There’s a reason he’s here.”

What brought him to FC Tucson? After a 2021 season where he scored a respectable but unspectacular three goals for Brazos Valley Cavalry FC, Stevenson broke out last year for 19 goals. An accomplishment even more remarkable given his team only played 19 games. The move has worked both for FC Tucson and for Stevenson.

“So far, it’s been a better environment here, way more professional,” said Stevenson after the match. “It’s been a great experience so far.”

Eight previous players have scored hat tricks for FC Tucson, but no one has previously scored four goals in a match.

Stevenson’s heroics aside, there were 21 other people on the field. Olympians made it up the field on a couple of occasions, and although FC Tucson’s defense was able to clean things up, the defense looked a bit sloppy at times.

“Obviously there’s going to be some small hurdles that we have to go over, go around and through,” said Biagi. “A little better ball security at moments and transitioning to defense. I’m happy we didn’t concede a goal during the run of play.”

He slipped in that “during the run of play” qualifier because Olympians managed a second-half goal from a set play in the second half. Changes at the hour mark brought on György Kamarás, who scored in stoppage time.

Olympians is the current champion of their league, the United Premier Soccer League, still, they were out-matched at times.

“We are a UPSL team. We have dreams; we have a lot of talent,” said Olympians coach Christian Valdez after the match. “We played well, but today was difficult.”

FC Tucson moves on to start their USL League Two season in earnest with a game against Arizona Arsenal in Mesa.

Hat tricks & more for FC Tucson

Glenn Vass, May 13, 2011, at Yavapai, W, 7-2
Ricardo Velazco, May 17, 2014 vs. OC Pateadores Blues, W, 7-0
Pedro Espindola, July 24, 2015 vs. Kitsap Puma, W, 4-1, postseason
Afonso Pinheiro, July 16, 2016 vs. Ventura County Fusion, W, 5-2
Moshe Perez, May 26, 2017 at FC Boulder U23, W, 5-0
Roy Abergil, March 18, 2019, vs. Sporting AZ, W, 9-0
Gio Calixtro, Aug. 22, 2021, at Fort Lauderdale CF, W, 4-0
Charlie Dennis, Sept. 19, 2021, at Greenville Triumph SC, D, 3-3
Ethan Stevenson*, May 20, 2023, vs Olympians FC, W 5-1

*4 goals scored

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