FC Tucson News Release -- www.fctucson.com
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
LA MIRADA, Calif. — After scoring nine goals against the OC Blues Strikers FC last Thursday night, it’s hard to believe FC Tucson has a scoring problem. But in five of their seven PDL matches, the club has scored just a goal or less.
“It’s tough to say,” said forward Dakota Collins when asked about the lack of scoring. “I think most of it comes down to us not having not been able to play together much. It’s just been games, games, games and not very much training.”
As FC Tucson hits the road again, the residual effects of their massive two-week long road trip can still be felt. Even after this most recent home stand, FC Tucson has still had three consecutive days of training just once since the beginning of the season.
That unfamiliarity between players, which is usually erased during practice, was evident on Saturday against the Fuego. Following the match, Schantz said the decision making in the final third was lacking, with players holding the ball when they should pass and passing the ball when they should hold on to it.
Collins echoed that statement following training on Monday. He described that some players enjoy the ball at their feet while other want a ball slightly ahead of them. Learning those tendencies, as well as how and when certain players make their run, will help unlock the goal-scoring problem.
But Schantz said he wasn’t worried about the lack of goals.
“We’re still creating chances,” Schantz said. “I’m not disappointed at all. The Fresno game was a perfect example. I thought we were dangerous but we just weren’t clinical in the final third.”
Schantz explained that scoring is just as much a mentality than it is making sure everyone is organized and during training on Monday, the club worked on set plays as a way to ingrain the scoring mentality into the players. What Schantz hopes is that when players set up goals for themselves enough in training, they’ll do it in matches without thinking.
FC Tucson will play its third match against the Southern California Seahorses on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT. In their two previous meetings, FC Tucson won 3-1 at home and drew with the Seahorses 1-1. In that draw, which was in La Mirada, FC Tucson held a 1-0 lead until Southern California tied it with less then 10 minutes remaining.
“We really can’t afford to lose or drop any points in the upcoming weeks,” said FC Tucson forward David Clemens. “But this team will fight and we’ll be able to manage to get the points.”