After two late-game goals by Albuquerque’s Noe Meza and a controversial call in the 37th minute that reversed a would-be goal for FC Tucson, the teams’ match at Kino North Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw Tuesday night.
This was the third time both teams have met this season. Each team had won one before the draw. FC Tucson will continue their schedule Saturday on the road against Albuquerque Sol FC.
The remainder of the season will be played on the road.
The first half Tuesday saw plenty of action, even though neither team scored.
Carranza had a chance early in the game with a header off a long pass, but Albuquerque’s keeper made the save. At the 10-minute mark, Damian German took a shot, but an Albuquerque defender headed it out.
The Albuquerque defense kept working hard to thwart FC Tucson’s attack, but FC Tucson finally broke through. A cross pass through defenders by Miguel Salazar allowed Carranza to score from the left side, but a call from officials — after celebrations — ruled Salazar was offsides and reversed the goal.
In the 56th minute, FC Tucson was finally able to get on the board thanks to Carranza, who accepted an assist from Angel Heredia and dribbled around Casey Gasson — the Albuquerque keeper — to score on an empty net.
Albuquerque recovered late in the game and tied the game in the 77th minute with a goal from Meza, and an assist from Quinn Fahling.
Meza came back to the goal three minutes later to hand Albuquerque Sol the lead on an unassisted score.
Tucson’s Ryosuke Hirayama attempted to tie the game once more in the 86th minute, but his shot was saved by Gasson. Then Kyle VanAlstire made a run at the goal, but was fouled as he got within scoring distance. Dalton Pando took the free kick, only to have it slapped away by the keeper.
VanAlstire finally connected in the final moments of the three minutes of stoppage time to end the night with a draw.
CORNER KICKS
•FC Tucson welcomed 1,742 fans Tuesday night for the Fireworks Extravaganza! — a 15-minute firework show — and the last home game of the season.
•The FC Tucson Women finished their season June 24 on the road with a 2-1 win over the San Diego Parceiro Ladies. The win bolstered their record to 5-2-1 and edged LA Galaxy San Diego by one point (16) for the Pac South Conference lead. The first round of playoffs will begin next weekend.
