Leave it to the local guy to send the hometown fans home with a smile.
Donny Toia, in his second game back with the club he got his start at, slotted home a perfectly weighted cross from Tyler Allen in the 84th minute to give FC Tucson a 1-1 draw with the Greenville Triumph SC before a season-high 1,785 at Kino North Stadium on Saturday night.
Toia wrote himself into FC Tucson lore with the club’s first goal in 2012, and led the team in scoring before transitioning to defense for his nine-year Major League Soccer career. His return to Tucson along with the improved play at several key positions helped FC Tucson pick up points for the third match in the last four USL League One outings.
FC Tucson dominated a majority of the possession in the first half but it was Greenville that struck just before the halftime whistle. Almost from out of nowhere, Triumph midfielder Lucas Coutinho turned and found the back of the net to make it 1-0.
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Greenville kept up the pressure when the teams returned to the field. That was until Toia was subbed onto the field in the 64th minute. From then on it was FC Tucson pushing many men forward and keeping the ball in the Triumph’s half of the field while Greenville survived the charges and settled for counterattacks.
FC Tucson continued to press until defender Allen made one of his patented runs down the right side, bamboozled his defender before cutting inside and finding Toia in front of the net.
FC Tucson held a significant advantage in possession throughout the game (57.8%-42.2%) and a 12-10 edge in shots.
DONNNNYYYYYYY TOIAAAAAAAAAAA 👏👏👏👏
— FC Tucson (@FCTucson) July 4, 2022
He’s back!!!#fuerzatucson 🌵 | #TUCvGVL pic.twitter.com/UMz9MnX32n
It was Toia’s ninth goal in 24 matches in his FC Tucson career.
GOALS
- 43′ – GVL – Lucas Coutinho
- 84′ – TUC – Donny Toia
QUOTES
- “It was good to get a point, but we’re still hungry for wins and a tie isn’t good enough for us so we keep pushing.” – FC Tucson Defender Tyler Allen
- “As an attacking player, I like to get in behind and use my pace, I beat my defender and Donny made a phenomenal run into the box so I just found his feet and it was a goal.” – FC Tucson Defender Tyler Allen
- “We haven’t been able to find that clicking moment, I think we did in the 80th to 85th minute. We were pushing to get that winner, we didn’t hold back and it just didn’t happen. I’m happy to get a point obviously, but not really happy. We look at the run of games we’ve had and we’re definitely trending in the right direction.” – FC Tucson Head Coach Jon Pearlman
- “I’m proud of the team persevering, and Tyler Allen has proven over the last three games that there is no right-back in the league playing better than him, either side of the ball. He’s locked down three of the most dangerous guys in the league, he’s done his job and he found the energy to push his team through.” – FC Tucson Head Coach Jon Pearlman
NEXT UP
FC Tucson will play its third straight home match on Saturday, July 9, when it takes on Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC for the first time ever. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (BUY TICKETS)
