Last-minute goals lose match for FC Tucson

The last time FC Tucson met Fort Lauderdale CF was in July. Fort Lauderdale was a hot-headed young team in its first match. It showed: they had two players ejected and FC Tucson earned a 2 – 1 win after two late goals.

Eight weeks later, FC Tucson met a more mature Fort Lauderdale side at Kino North Stadium on Wednesday night. This time, it was the Florida side with two late goals as the visitors earned the win.

FC Tucson was out-possessed 57-43 in the first half, but they made their most of their time with the ball with shots by Roberto Alarcón and Elivelton. Fort Lauderdale’s only chance came from a free kick taken by Sam Guediri near the penalty area, which went wide.

FC Tucson’s time in front of Fort Lauderdale’s goal saw reward early in the second half. Azaad Liadi made a run up the left to get into a position to make a shot when he was taken down from behind by Fort Lauderdale’s Modesto Mendez. After some discussion between the FC Tucson players, Giovanni Ramos-Godoy stepped up to take the penalty kick. The one-time Big West Offensive Player of the Year buried the chance for his first goal of the year.

It didn’t take long for Fort Lauderdale to earn their own penalty when an errant Niall Logue slide tackle took down second half substitute Eduardo Sosa just inside the area. Ricky Lopes-Espin, the second-leading scorer in the league, stepped up to take the shot. It looked like a sure chance to even things up until FC Tucson keeper Amal Knight batted the shot clear of goal.

FC Tucson continued to attack with quality chances from Ramos-Godoy and Logue (off of a corner kick). The most spectacular was a 87th minute run by Alarcón whose chance was ended by Fort Lauderdale keeper Dylan Castanheira. After he batted the shot away, he scooped it up and delivered it to a teammate, which started a counterattack that ended with Jerome Kiesewetter, who has had appearances with the U.S. national team, scoring from just inside the box.

A confident Fort Lauderdale side kept pushing and earned a second goal deep into stoppage time as a misplaced clearance ended up at the feed of Sosa, who finished a 25 yard shot.

The loss leaves FC Tucson with only a slim chance of making the final. A win in next week’s rematch with Forward Madison still could put the team back in striking distance of the top two teams. That game will be hosted outside of Milwaukee due to COVID-19 precautions at the team’s usual home.