FC Tucson News Release -- www.fctucson.com
Friday, May 25, 2012
TUCSON, Ariz. — In a season filled with franchise firsts, FC Tucson will notch another one on Saturday night: a rematch.
FC Tucson plays its second scheduled match with Pali Blues at Kino Sports Complex North, Field No.5, just two weeks after a thrilling 1-0 against the Blues. In that game, FC Tucson was down a man for nearly the entire second half, but won when Travis Sanchez scored a highlight-worthy bicycle-kick goal in the 83rd minute.
Despite that win, FC Tucson head coach Rick Schantz doesn’t believe that win will breed overconfidence in his team.
“It wasn’t as if we dominated that match when we were down a man,” Schantz said. “We were really hanging on and [Pali] had a lot of possession and it was just hard work and grit that didn’t give up a goal.
“To expect that [our team’s] performance would make the guys feel like, ‘Oh, we’re going to easily win this game’; if anything it might be the very opposite. It was a difficult win. It wasn’t easy and we expect that they’re going to want revenge.”
Schantz did say that the familiarity of playing the Blues once before will help the team feel better prepared when it takes the field on Saturday night. It will also help the coaching staff, especially when it comes to determining where to put players.
Coming into the game, Pali has gone 320 minutes without scoring a goal: a run of three-and-a-half games. (The Blues’ lone goal of the season came 40 minutes into their first game of the season on May 4). During that stretch the Blues have gone 0-2-1.
“I’m sure they’re getting a bit tense and they’re going to really, really want something,” Schantz said “The good news is they’re coming in on the road and if they do extend themselves, maybe the size of our field will allow our pace to open up and get behind them a little bit. So we would hope that they press for that goal, where we would stay calm and just take advantage of it.”
FC Tucson (2-1-0) is currently tied for fourth place in the PDL’s Southwest Division with six points from three games. Pali (0-2-2) is currently in sixth place with two points from four games.
Tickets for Saturday night’s contest are $12 and can be bought at the gate beginning at 5 p.m. They can also be purchased online at www.TicketForce.com or on the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/FCTucson.