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TUCSON – USL League One announced on Monday the Team of the Week Presented by Cleer Audio for Week 9 of the 2021 regular season, with FC Tucson midfielder Daniel Bedoya earning TOTW honors for his performance on Saturday against Toronto FC II. 

Bedoya’s excellent delivery assisted Giovanni Calixtro for Tucson’s equalizer against Toronto FC II. He was unlucky not to score a stoppage-time winner himself when he hit the woodwork in spectacular fashion from distance, and created four chances in total on the night.

Daniel Bedoya and FC Tucson (2-2-2) continue their home stretch on Saturday, June 12, against Chattanooga Red Wolves. Kick-off set for 7 pm PT at Kino North Stadium. 

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Playing just its second home game in a season that has had its ups and downs, FC Tucson continued that form again Saturday night at Kino North Stadium.

After falling behind early, the Men in Black responded quickly and had a handful of opportunities throughout — including a screamer off the crossbar in the dying moments —  before settling for a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC II to extend their unbeaten run to three straight matches.

FC Tucson had a couple of chances in the first 15 minutes, but it was Toronto, who has become a local rival while starting the season up the road in Casa Grande due to the pandemic, that lit up the scoreboard first when Themi Antonoglou scored.

The response from the Men in Black was quick as Gio Calixtro rose above the crowd and powered home a cross from Daniel Bedoya at the far post for his first goal of the season to go with three assists.

“So I got into the box and I knew Danny has good service. I saw the ball coming in and just tried my best to just make an impact and I did,” Calixtro said.

Both teams had chances In the second half, but it was FC Tucson that came closest to breaking the deadlock before a crowd of 747. The best opportunity was in stoppage time when Bedoya’s belted ball from outside the box pounded the crossbar to deny FC Tucson the win. 

“We had lots of opportunities,” FC Tucson coach John Galas said. “It was a very different game plan from the game up in Casa Grande. In that match we had to focus on the defensive side. Today we wanted to play more and get back to enjoying football.”

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Cox Communications Southern Arizona

Cox Communications is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through broadband applications and services. The largest private telecom company in America, we proudly serve six million homes and businesses across 18 states. In metro Phoenix, we serve approximately 2.5 million product subscribers, and in Southern Arizona, approximately 400,000 product subscribers, with residential and business digital television, 1G high speed Internet, security systems and digital telephone service over its own nationwide IP network.  We’re dedicated to empowering others to build a better future and celebrate diverse products, people, suppliers, communities and the characteristics that makes each one unique.  The 3,100 Arizona employees of Cox are proud to have topped numerous J.D. Power and Associates’ studies of customer satisfaction and for many years top “Ranking Arizona-Best of Arizona Business” list.  Cox Communications is the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox.  

TUCSON, Ariz. (June 3, 2021) — FC Tucson announced today it has permanently transferred midfielder Gerard Lavergne to York United FC of the Canadian Premier League.

“We believe that Gerard’s move to York United will provide a crucial opportunity for him to develop and advance his career as he pushes to make an impact with the Dominican Republic National Team,” said FC Tucson Head Coach John Galas. “We want to thank Gerard for all his service to the club and wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

Lavergne, 22, originally signed with FC Tucson on March 4, 2021. The Dominican Republic National Team midfielder made one USL League one regular-season appearance for the club. Lavergne began his playing career in the Dominican Republic, making his professional debut at 16-years-old for Cibao FC. Since then, Lavergne has played for Atlético San Cristóbal and Atlético Pantoja. The midfielder has made nine appearances and logged 636 minutes of play for his senior national team through CONCACAF Nations League play and international friendlies.

The Men in Black will return home for their next match on Saturday, June 5 against Toronto FC II. The first kick is set for 7 p.m. at Kino North Stadium. Fans can secure their tickets by visiting https://www.fctucson.com/tickets.

TRANSACTION: FC Tucson transfers midfielder Gerard Lavergne to York United FC on June 3, 2021. 

TUCSON – USL League One announced on Monday the Team of the Week (TOTW) Presented by Cleer Audio for Week 8 of the 2021 regular season, with FC Tucson forward Deri Corfe and defender Maxi Schenfeld earning TOTW honors after their two-match, two-win stretch.

Corfe put in two top performances last week. In Wednesday’s win over Toronto FC II, he scored the game-winning goal while passing at a 91 percent success rate and winning 5 of 6 duels. He was back at it again on Saturday, creating three chances, winning 9 of 12 duels, and completing five successful dribbles.

In both of Tucson’s away wins last week, the team had to hold a 2-1 lead for a large portion of the match. Schenfeld was integral to doing so both times – across the two games, he compiled 13 duels won, nine clearances, six interceptions, and two chances created.

Following the conclusion of week 8, FC Tucson (2-2-1, 7 points) will return home to take on Toronto FC II on June 5 at Kino North Stadium. That kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

To stay updated on all the latest FC Tucson news, download the FC Tucson app or subscribe to the FC Tucson newsletter.

Officially, FC Tucson was listed as the visitor in Wednesday night’s game against Toronto FC II. But, playing just 78 miles up the road from their usual home, the Men in Black must have found comfort in playing in a familiar, friendly desert environment.

FC Tucson scored two first-half goals en route to defeating Toronto FC II 2-1 at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, the Canadian team’s temporary home due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Toronto FC II had much of the possession in the first 20 minutes, but it was FC Tucson that severed the scoreless deadlock with the perfectly placed incision coming from Joao Delgado in the 24th minute. After a deflected ball bounced to him just inside the 18-yard box, the Portuguese midfielder used the outside of his right boot to perfectly loft a curling shot across the goalmouth and into the upper left corner for his second goal of the season and his second in his last two matches.

Just four minutes later, the lead was doubled when an FC Tucson corner pinballed around a host of legs before Deri Corfe ricocheted it in for his second goal of the season. 

Toronto FC II responded in the 37th minute when midfielder Themi Antonoglou was the beneficiary of a FC Tucson giveaway and charged 15 yards at the goal before left-footing the ball into the lower right corner.

Both teams had chances in the second half with Toronto FC II squandering quite a few good chances that went high, wide or high and wide.

FC Tucson (1-2-1, 4 points) will be taking a much longer trip for its next away game when it travels to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina, to take on North Carolina FC on Saturday, May 29, at 4 p.m. After that, the Men in Black will return home to take on Toronto FC II on June 5 at Kino North Stadium. That kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

It seems to almost defy logic that a team that had 56 percent of the possession and amassed 22 shots could be on the wrong end of a 5-1 score. 

But that’s where FC Tucson found itself after Sunday’s match at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Men in Black were just a trio of toe-pokes and a converted penalty away from netting a quintet of goals themselves against Fort Lauderdale CF.

After Fort Lauderdale midfielder Abel Caputo put FC Tucson in an early hole with a goal in the second minute, the Men in Black quickly responded when Daniel Bedoya was taken down in the box on a breakaway. FC Tucson forward Franco Perez stepped up to take the penalty but was thwarted when his shot down the middle struck the foot of goalkeeper Drake Callender in the 10th minute.

In the 26th minute, FC Tucson let another opportunity go begging when Perez couldn’t reach a scintillating cross that slid through the box. 

Fort Lauderdale doubled its lead when Christian Young right-footed in a rebound after FC Tucson goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley parried away a free kick in the 39th minute. A few minutes later, Lapsley made a sensational double save, first with his left foot at point-blank range and then with his right hand, to keep FC Tucson in it heading into the break.

But Fort Lauderdale found the net again in the 48th minute when George Acosta scored on a perfectly placed, grass-cutter laser from just outside the 18-yard box.

The Men in Black twice had chances that were a whisker away from going in from close range and then finally ended the stupefying string of near misses with a goal in the 75th minute. A Gio Calixtro pass broke the Fort Lauderdale defense and hit Joao Delgado in stride. Delgado clinically finished it off to cut the deficit to 3-1.

FC Tucson continued to push forward to try to get back into the match but were victimized twice by streaking breakaways by Venton Evans, the first in the 77th minute and the second in the 87th minute.

FC Tucson (0-2-1, 1 point) will return to action on Wednesday, May 26, when it faces host Toronto FC II in a match at Grande Sports World in Casa Grande, Arizona. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m.

After a 1-1 draw on May 8 in the home opener against Forward Madison FC, FC Tucson makes its first return to Fort Lauderdale since the club’s July 25, 2021, 2-1 win. In the club’s last outing in Fort Lauderdale, Tucson scored two goals in the last 3 minutes of regular time to continue their undefeated streak in the state of Florida. 

Now, Fort Lauderdale CF host the Men in Black at DRV PNK Stadium for the team’s second away game of the season. The match is set to kick off at 4:30 pm PT and will air live on ESPN+. 

FC Tucson Head Coach John Galas expects the match to be an exciting one for those tuning in.

“We are both teams with very similar styles of play. We both try to build-up play and keep the ball in the opposition’s half. Historically, we have had very exciting games against them, whether home or away, so we are looking forward to this game.”

FC Tucson boasts 56 percent of possession from their last match, adding a pass succession of 88 percent. Tucson’s lone goal in the match came by way of forward Deri Corfe, who earned Team of the Week honors after pouncing on a Madison mistake to score his first USL League One goal. In Fort Lauderdale’s last match, a 2-0 loss to Union Omaha, the team held a 61 percent of possession and 86 percent pass success rate.

“We challenged the guys this week to respond defensively and they responded well in training this week. This should be a great game of football,” added John Galas. 

HOW TO WATCH

ESPN + Stream (U.S. Viewers): ESPN + Fort Lauderdale CF vs. FC Tucson

International Stream: Youtube.com

To stay updated on all the latest FC Tucson news, download the FC Tucson app or subscribe to the FC Tucson newsletter.