After a long time away from Kino North Stadium, FC Tucson appeared to be on its way back to success. But a very early two-goal Tucson lead was answered by a late first-half score and then a strike at the death by the Richmond Kickers to leave the teams sharing the points in a 2-2 game Saturday night.
It had been 27 days between home matches for the Men In Black and they were quickly ready to show they were back in form, scoring twice in the opening 15 minutes.
After Richmond’s Ivan Magalhaes fouled Roberto Alarcon in the box and was whistled for a penalty, Alarcon stepped up and struck it to goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald’s right to put FC Tucson ahead 1-0 in the 10th minute.
“It was his success that got the penalty and then he scored the penalty,” FC Tucson coach John Galas said of Alarcon. “He seems to be involved in everything that we do.”
The lead was doubled when red-hot Man In Black Shak Adams scored for the fourth consecutive match. After a scintillating run, Adams struck to give FC Tucson a 2-0 lead in the 15th minute. With that score, he tied the franchise record of scoring in four straight matches.
“There’s no more secrets in this league,” Galas said when referring to Adams. “Even with that he certainly had his moments.”
But the Kickers put on more pressure in a feisty match and were rewarded with a penalty of their own, which Emiliano Terzaghi converted for his sixth goal of the season to cut the deficit in half in the 40th minute.
In an intense back-and-forth second half, it looked like FC Tucson might come away with the three points. But Richmond midfielder Victor Falyk said otherwise when he headed in a Ryley Kraft cross in the 93rd minute to pull the Kickers (4-1-2, 14 points) even.
“I thought we were careless with the ball at times, too loose defensively,’’ Galas said. “I don’t think a draw was a fair result.”
Late FC Tucson substitute Darius Lewis, who was making his first appearance for the club, echoed that sentiment.
“We just had a lack of commitment in the box,” Lewis said. “It’s a tough way to finish. It feels like we ended up losing even though we had a draw.”
FC Tucson (2-4-1, 7 points) will continue its three-game homestand when it goes up against North Texas SC at Kino Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12 with the kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
