Kaelon Fox’s soccer journey has taken him from Georgia to Kentucky to Mississippi to Iceland to Tucson — and now to the USL League One playoffs.
Fox and fourth-seeded FC Tucson (11-10-7) host the fifth-seeded Richmond Kickers on Saturday night in the first round of the playoffs. The postseason match, which starts at 7 p.m., is FC Tucson’s first as a professional club.
Fox, a 26-year-old center-back, captained FC Tucson in their 4-2 win over the Kickers in last weekend’s regular-season finale.
The Men in Black’s defense is sure to be tested again Saturday by Richmond forward Emiliano Terzaghi. The Argentine won his second consecutive USL League One Golden Boot award this year while setting a league record with 18 goals. Terzaghi scored two goals against FC Tucson during the regular season, both on penalty kicks.
FC Tucson Maxi Schenfeld (19) and Kaelon Fox (5) from FC Tucson hover over Richmond Kickers’ Emiliano Terzaghi last week’s regular-season finale at Kino North Stadium. The Men in Black will call on Fox to help limit Terzaghi, the league’s leading scorer, in Saturday’s USL League One playoff opener.
FC Tucson coach Jon Pearlman called Fox a “top man” who has exceeded the high expectations set for him when he came to the club in February. Born in Atlanta and raised in Louisville, Fox played collegiately at both Kentucky and Saint Francis in Pennsylvania before starting his professional journey.
“He’s been a leader since Day 1,” Pearlman said. “He pushes everyone to be better, he’s the hardest worker on the team, he always wants to improve himself but he puts the team first and is just a guy everyone would say overall has a really taken a leadership mantle on.
“He’s just a tremendous individual and we’re incredibly lucky to have him leading us from the back.”
Fox came to the Old Pueblo after playing for Þór Akureyri of the Inkasso-deild karla, the second division in Iceland. He said his family was “of course … really happy” when he came back to the United States.
“They weren’t flying internationally to see me,” Fox said. Now, “my girlfriend can visit me; she was actually here this last week. So having family and friends, whether it’s a home game or away, has been really nice, of course.”
Fox said he missed the joking around and banter in the locker room, made easier by so many players speaking English in the United States. Before going to Iceland, Fox played for Mississippi Brilla FC (2018) and Reading United AC (2017); both teams are in what is now USL League Two.
“I played here since I was 4 years old, I know the game, I have plenty of friends that are in League One, (SL) Championship, MLS, so I knew what i was getting myself into,” Fox said.
“Going over to Iceland, you don’t really know … but coming back to America, playing in League One, every team we play I’ve either played in college or summer league with one guy so it’s to reconnect there but also just know that I can play in this league, and I’ve shown that.”
