FC Tucson forward/defender Donny Toia is off to such a hot start that maybe the only way to stop him from scoring is to kick him out.
Toia, FC Tucson’s leading scorer, has netted a goal in nearly every USL League One match he’s appeared in. The only exceptions: Toia’s June 29 debut, when he entered in the 75th minute of a 90-minute-game; and FC Tucson’s July 16 tilt at Union Omaha, when Toia was sent off with a red card.
“I think goal production from him has been great, but I expect that from him,” said FC Tucson head coach Jon Pearlman. “He’s a good pro, he’s definitely good enough for the (USL) Championship or to play on an MLS roster, so goals are a bonus. But he’s been effective in what we’ve being asking him to do and I think he’ll continue to be effective.”
After scoring three goals in four matches, Toia — a Major League Soccer veteran who played at Canyon del Oro High School and Pima College — is tied for 21st in the league in scoring, seven behind Greenville’s Jacob Labovitz, who has played in 16 matches. Toia was named to the USL League One Team of the Week after scoring his third goal in the span of 139 minutes.
FC Tucson’s Donny Toia celebrates after slotting home the opening score during the team’s July 9 match against Northern Colorado at Kino North Stadium.
Toia and FC Tucson (3-9-4) close out their homestand on Saturday, when they host North Carolina FC (5-9-3) at Kino North Stadium. With 16 points, FC Tucson sits last in the 11-team USL League One standings. North Carolina FC (17 points) is 10th.
“It’s a good start for me, but I don’t really care about that. I care about winning,” Toia said. “Right now we’re in a rut and we gotta get out of that rut, especially at home and then get back on track and start winning games on the road as well.”
Pearlman said Toia has been a positive influence on his younger teammates.
“He’s a guy who’s never gonna be too high or too low,” Pearlman said. “The red card was just an aberration. He just performs, he puts in the work, puts in the shift and he’s happy as long as the team wins, it’s not about whether he gets ‘x’ number of touches.”
Scoring comes naturally to Toia, who played forward for Tucson Soccer Academy and at both CDO and Pima before his first stint with FC Tucson. He soon moved to defender, the position he played as an MLS regular from 2014-21.
Toia believes the experience on defense has helped him in his transition back to forward.
“I think just playing defender you see all the runs forwards make, all the movement and it’s difficult to track those, so I just kinda take that and learn from it and try to absorb all that and make those same runs just to throw the defenders off and put them in bad positions that I can capitalize on,” Toia said.
Corner kicks
FC Tucson defender Kaelon Fox also earned team of the week honors after scoring his first goal as a professional.
