Sunday night’s game at Kino North Stadium was riddled with fouls, but FC Tucson (7-2-5) still managed to secure their spot in the USL 2 Playoffs after a 1-1 draw with Coachella FC (1-9-4).
This marks the first time FC Tucson has qualified for postseason play since 2021. FC Tucson will host a USL 2 playoff game Friday at Kino North Stadium. The opponent is not yet determined.
Head coach Sebastian Pineda said, “I told the guys a few games ago that we have a chance to be part of history with this team. Teams that don’t make the playoffs are forgotten. We’ve taken care of the big guys at home, but we still have to fight hard at the end.”
Entering the game on a seven-game unbeaten run, FC Tucson looked to end the regular season with a statement performance against a Coachella FC team that had surrendered 19 goals over their past three games.
As the game began, Coachella’s poor form was quickly made an afterthought, as they played with a tenacity that was a stark contrast to their record.
Tucson was not shy in matching Coachella’s physicality, with both sides earning two yellow cards over the course of the game.
Coachella midfielder Vicente Silva opened the scoring in the 31st minute after dribbling past two Tucson defenders and getting his shot past Swiss keeper Nils Roth.
This game marked the first start of the season for Roth, and despite giving up the first goal, he proved to be instrumental in keeping Tucson within striking distance, routinely making clutch saves time and time again.
Tucson managed to equalize through set piece play in the 57th minute. Forward Aldair Gomez took the corner for FC Tucson, and he supplied a beautiful ball for defender D’Andre Pickett to steer a header past Coachella’s keeper Josiah Emerson, who was also quite active defensively all night.
Gomez plays collegiately at Keiser University, while Pickett, a Tucson High grad, is a member of Pima College’s soccer team.
The remainder of the match progressed mostly without incident until Coachella’s captain Alberto Villa was sent off with a second yellow card in the 83rd minute after he had some choice words for the referee following a Tucson foul.
Tucson was unable to take advantage of a Coachella side playing with ten men in the final minutes of the game, and the match ended in a draw.
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