With a man advantage in the second half, FC Tucson pushed for a goal to get back into the match and, for a few seconds, looked like it had added the equalizer before falling 2-1 to Union Omaha at Kino North Stadium on Saturday night.
After coming out well for the first 10 minutes, Tucson watched Union Omaha take control for much of the first half. The reward came in the 42nd minute when Noe Meza took a free kick from about five yards in front of the box and deftly put it into the upper right corner of the goal to make it 1-0.
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Union Omaha doubled the lead when Kemal Malcom dove forward and beat goalkeeper Carlos Merancio to his right in the 57th minute.
The momentum of the match shifted when Union Omaha defender Gabriel Claudio picked up a second yellow card in the 63rd minute, just 12 minutes after his first yellow.
FC Tucson then had the lion’s share of the possession and pulled one back on an own goal by Conor Doyle.
It’s an Own goal from the Owls 👏
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) June 12, 2022
TUC 1-2 OMA#TUCvOMA | #fuerzatucson 🌵 pic.twitter.com/zeyXeKzinf
A few minutes later FC Tucson substitute Elijah Wynder slotted the ball into the net, only to have it wiped out by an offside call.
FC Tucson (2-6-1, 7 points) continued to push forward but couldn’t find the tying goal in a match that had more than 7 minutes of second-half stoppage time.
GOALS
- 42′ – OMA – Meza
- 57′ – OMA – Malcolm
- 73′ – TUC – Doyle (OG)
QUOTES
- “We are getting the ball into that final third, but we’re not generating that one move, that dangerous play, but we could have got a draw here. I feel a draw would’ve been fair.” – FC Tucson Head Coach Jon Pearlman
- “This may be one of the hardest losses of the year. I thought we were so bright the first fifteen minutes and controlled the game completely. Once you give a goal to Omaha, no one’s better than sitting in that 4-4-2 block and locking a game down. We kept going, there was no quit in the team.” – FC Tucson Head Coach Jon Pearlman
NEXT UP
FC Tucson will now hit the road to play Central Valley Fuego FC on June 18 at Fresno State Soccer Stadium. Fans can watch the match at the Official Watch Party hosted by Firetruck Brewing Company. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.
