For the third year in a row, FC Tucson experienced Elite Eight heartbreak at home to a cold-weather team.
FC Tucson (12-2-2) lost the Premier Development League Western Conference final on Saturday night at Kino North Stadium. Calgary Foothills FC defender Dominick Zator scored in the 80th minute give the visitors a 2-1 lead; the score held, as the Canadians sunk the Men in Black.
“It’s difficult to lose at this stage again,” FC Tucson coach Rick Schantz said.
“The worst part is every year having the team together and knowing that it’s over … that part’s a tough one. I get to really care about these guys.”
FC Tucson also lost in the Western Conference final in 2014 and 2015 to the Kitsap (Washington) Pumas and the Seattle Sounders FC U23, respectively. Both matches were also held at Kino North.
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“The game of soccer got us,” said FC Tucson captain Michael Tuner. “Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way and that’s just how it goes. It’s kinda like last year, we gave up kinda soft goals. I don’t know; it’s just one of those things.”
Both teams battled the oppressive July heat. The temperature was 102 degrees at kickoff; the teams took water breaks in the 23rd and 68th minutes. The Canadians, surprisingly, didn’t falter.
Foothills forward Dominic Russo scored during first-half stoppage time despite being closely marked.
In the 65th minute, FC Tucson defender Kyle Adams got the equalizer, running into the penalty box on a corner kick to score.
Three minutes later, FC Tucson forward Afonso Pinheiro missed just past the goal post when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
“We had a goal the whole summer, and it didn’t work out the way we wanted,” Pinheiro said.
“It’s really tough, we’ve been talking every day about how we wanted to bring this national championship to Tucson and unfortunately it didn’t work out the way we wanted. But that’s the way it is in life and that’s the beauty of the game.”
In the 80th minute, Zator trapped the ball with his chest and shot it to beat FC Tucson goalkeeper Thomas Olsen near post and punch the Hoops’ ticket to the PDL final four.
“I definitely think on the second goal there was a foul on the corner kick and he had been calling them all night and let one go and we got punished for it,” Schantz said. “But you can never blame the referees.”
The Men in Black wore white jerseys for the fourth home match in a row. They scored 13 goals in the other three matches.
In the 85th minute, FC Tucson midfielder Ozzie Ramos just missed a shot on a free kick from right outside the penalty box, immediately after a Hoops hand ball on another Men in Black free kick.
Then in 89th minute it got worse for FC Tucson as defender Dom Papa got a red card for taking out Calgary defender Dean Northover.
Foothills (10-3-3), founded in 1972, won the Northwest Division in its second season in PDL.
“We played a very good team,” Schantz said. “I thought we really stepped it up in the second half and the guys really fought, and a little bit of luck didn’t go our way.”
Calgary moves on the PDL national semifinals, which will be held Saturday at a site to be determined. FC Tucson could’ve hosted next week’s tournament with a win.
“That’s a quality organization, they got a great coach, he’s a good friend,” Schantz said. “I’m just kinda getting tired of losing at this spot.”
