FC Tucson vs. Tormenta FC Match Preview
Tucson, AZ- Tormenta FC wraps up its four-match road trip on Friday, April 26th in Tucson, Arizona. Tormenta (2-1-2, 1st in USL League One) faces FC Tucson (1-1-1, 7th in USL League One) for the second of three matches this season.
Tormenta FC seeks its first road win of the season (0-1-2) after starting the season undefeated at home. Tormenta comes into the match with a six-day break and four games played in the last 20 days.
FC Tucson is looking for its first home win after drawing Toronto FC II 1-1 on April 13th. Tucson comes into the match with a thirteen-day break.
A win for Tormenta would keep the club at least two points clear of the rest of the field in the USL League One standings, pending results from Lansing, North Texas, Chattanooga and Greenville who all sit at six points.
Players to watch:
Pablo Jara: Pablo comes into Friday’s match tied for 1st in the league for clean sheets with Richmond’s Akira Fitzgerald (two clean sheets out of five matches). The goalkeeper’s consistency is a key part of Tormenta’s success. With a slightly banged-up backline, Jara playing like a brick wall could make the difference this week. Jara has nine saves through five matches this season.
Conner Antley: Conner Antley is another Tormenta player who is on top of the league, leading in assists with three. Antley has looked perfect playing down the right-wing with several important passes that led to victories for Tormenta. Over the course of the season, Antley has won 50% of his tackles, 60% of duels, and 78% of aerial duels. Conner also scored his first goal this season against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC this past Saturday.
Lucas Coutinho: Lucas is the third Tormenta player leading the league in a key match statistic. He sits on top for chances created with a total of nine. Coutinho has been a maestro on the pitch when playing in an attacking midfield position or on the wing. Coutinho’s passing accuracy in the opponent’s half is 78% (second for Tormenta, behind Ricardo Gomez). We will see what he can do against FC Tucson who he got the better of when the two teams met earlier this month.
Last Match For Tormenta FC:
On Saturday, Tormenta faced Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Early on, Tormenta didn’t seem to get comfortable which Chattanooga took advantage of, scoring goals in the 8th, 11th, and 17th minutes, catching Tormenta FC off guard. Once the whistle blew to kick off the second half, Tormenta played with a completely different energy than before. The team kept Chattanooga pressed back and broke through in the 74th minute via a goal from Conner Antley. Chris Hellmann stepped up the pressure yet again and scored Tormenta’s second goal, chipping the goalkeeper from near the penalty spot. A third match-tying goal was not found though, and Tormenta suffered its first loss of the season with a score of 3-2.
Last Match For FC Tucson:
For FC Tucson, a slow first 45 minutes against Toronto FC II registered only three shots and no goals for either team. The match stayed deadlocked until the 73rd minute when Jamael Cox broke the draw for FC Tucson after an assist from Abergil. The lead did not last long as Toronto FC II’s Jordan Hamilton scored off a header in the 79th minute. In stoppage time, Tucson looked set to steal all three points, but Devyn Jambga’s volley in the 92nd minute was saved by a diving Eric Klenofsky. The score stayed 1-1 despite FC Tucson dominating stoppage time.
Match Facts:
FC Tucson (1-1-1) vs Tormenta FC (2-1-2)
Kickoff: 7:30 P.M.MST (10:30 P.M. EST)
Where: Kino North Stadium
Not Traveling? Watch on ESPN+, on YouTube internationally, or at The Clubhouse viewing party in Statesboro (2704 Old Register Rd. Statesboro, Ga 30458)
