With fortunes changed, FC Tucson back in playoff hunt

Following a loss to 1-0 home Union Omaha on Aug. 14, FC Tucson interim coach Jon Pearlman balked at the idea his team was finished.

“The season’s still not lost,” Pearlman said that night. “I’m incredulous to think that. Simply put, somebody has to finish in that last playoff spot and I guarantee we have a chance to be there.”

Maybe Pearlman was onto something.

Since then, FC Tucson (6-8-4) has won two straight games — including last weekend’s 2-1 home win over Greenville Triumph SC. The Men in Black have outscored their last two opponents 6-1.

And though the team remains in 11th place in the USL League One standings, it is now just three points — or one win — behind sixth-place Richmond for the final playoff spot.

“Those six points have changed our fortunes,” Pearlman said after the Greenville win. “We’re looking at a very different table right now. We’re looking at staying attached and connected the rest of the way.”

The FC Tucson coach credited his players for continuing to believe in each other and trust in the game plan. Nothing dramatic has changed, he said, it was just a matter of catching breaks at the right time — a luxury the team hasn’t been afforded much of the year as five of their losses have been by one goal.

“If we’re going to show as a group to the league (and) to our fans that we’re here for the long term, we have to continue to have consistent results,” Pearlman said.

There’s still 10 games of the regular season left for the Men in Black: five on the road and five at home. Tucson plays New England Revolution II on Wednesday at 4 p.m; that will be followed up by a trip to Arlington to battle North Texas SC on Saturday.

Tucson is in the middle of a three-games-in-seven-days span. It’s a scheduling wrinkle all USL League One teams have to deal with at some point in the season. Last year, FC Tucson had four midweek games. This year, it has three.

The Men in Black’s first midweek game of the year came in late May, when John Galas was still the team’s head coach. They beat Toronto FC 2-1 that night in a game played in Casa Grande due to Canada’s COVID-19 travel restrictions.

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Circumstances are different this time around as FC Tucson’s two opponents this week, New England Revolution II (7-7-3) and North Texas SC (6-5-7), are two of the best teams in the league on their own turf.

“We have to go into two tough places against two teams that are in playoff range right now. So to do that, you have to trust guys,” Pearlman said.

With FC Tucson needing to make sure it secured a home victory over Greenville, Pearlman opted to play his starters the majority of the night instead of potentially subbing them out to rest up for the road trip.

“It was critical that we get these three points,” he said.

That approach over the weekend already has Pearlman thinking about different lineup combinations for the upcoming road trip.

“You’re gonna see rotations on Wednesday,” he said. “We’ll obviously have to do some changing.”

Corner kicks

FC Tucson forward Shak Adams was named USL League One Player of the Week following his two-goal performance against Greenville.

Adams, along with Charlie Dennis and Noah Franke, were named to the USL League One Team of the Week. It marks Dennis’ second straight week earning the honors.

Forward Kevin Rodríguez was removed from Saturday’s contest in the first half against Greenville with a lower body injury. Pearlman is unsure if Rodríguez will make the road trip this week.