FC Tucson forward Kevin Rodriguez came back from injury too soon. Fortunately for the Men in Black, he’s returning to form at the perfect time.
Rodriguez drew the penalty kick that led to the Men in Black’s first goal in last week’s 2-2 draw with Forward Madison FC. Later in the match, he scored his third goal in two games.
FC Tucson (10-10-7) will host the Richmond Kickers at 7 p.m. Saturday in a de facto playoff match. Win their regular-season finale, and the Men in Black will qualify for the USL League One playoffs for the first time. In their first meeting this season, Richmond (11-9-7) beat FC Tucson 1-0 on July 31 in Virginia.
“I think my confidence is pretty high and hopefully I can keep it going for this weekend, because we need those three points to get to the playoffs,” Rodriguez said. “So hopefully I keep it going and the team keeps going and we get the big dub.”
FC Tucson coach Jon Pearlman is happy to see Rodriguez shine at such a critical team.
“He’s been tremendous. And if Kevin’s healthy, he’s incredibly quick, makes great runs,” Pearlman said. “He works incredibly hard on defense — he should’ve been on the team of the week last week, I thought he was our best player.
“I’m really happy for him. It’s been a struggle.”
After battling a nagging groin injury, Rodriguez was finally ready to play a full 90 minutes and thus start on Oct. 16. He scored twice in FC Tucson’s 3-1 win over South Georgia Tormenta FC. His first goal — also his first of the season — ended a nearly 290-minute scoring drought for the Men in Black.
“I came back too early and ended up injuring it again so it was kinda tough coming back from that but luckily with he help of (FC Tucson trainer) Alee (Vladyka) I was good and I’m fine now,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez joined FC Tucson after a couple years with the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Minnesota United FC picked Rodriguez in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. He played in college at Northern Illinois and went through the Houston Dynamo Academy.
“He creates a lot of problems for outside defenders and we hope it’s gonna create more problems for Richmond this weekend,” Pearlman said.
Corner kicks
FC Tucson midfielder Charlie Dennis was named to the USL League One Team of the Week for Week 29. Dennis had a goal and an assist at Forward Madison.
