FC Tucson midfielder Louis Perez played Wednesday’s match at a high school — not that it seemed to bother him.
Perez notched an assist, then scored the game-winning goal as FC Tucson beat the Northern Colorado Hailstorm, 2-1.
The match was played at Severance High School, the Hailstorm’s temporary home. With its artificial surface and various other lines besides, the field was far from ideal.
“The turf was good,” Perez said. “It’s just the environment, the high school, the football lines — it was my first time with the football lines.”
FC Tucson’s win snapped a six-match winless streak. On Saturday, the club will try to notch its first home victory of the USL League One season when it takes on Greenville Triumph SC at Kino North Stadium. The match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Perez is tied for fourth in the league with six assists and tied for 24th with three goals. Coach Jon Pearlman calls him “our top player.”
“He’s one of the top attackers in the league, he’s one of the top players in the league; I think he proved that,” Pearlman added. “He’s had some really good matches.”
Perez said he’d like to score even more. FC Tucson ranks last in the 11-team USL League One in both goals (19) and shots on goal (192).
“I’m looking forward to that pretty much every game because now I need to help the team as much as I can,” he said.
The Triumph, at 10-6-5, enter Saturday’s match in first place in USL League One. However, FC Tucson (4-10-4) was able to forge a 1-1 draw when the teams met on July 3.
Corner kicks
Perez connected with forward Franco Perez for Wednesday’s first goal. Franco Perez (no relation) is from Argentina. “He’s my neighbor in the locker room so we get to laugh a little bit about that,” Louis Perez said of their familiar names. “I guess ‘Perez for Perez’ sounds good, so if we can repeat that every game, I’ll be happy.”
Winless at home in their black and red “Monsoon” kits, FC Tucson will instead wear all white on Saturday. The club wore the all-white look in its upset of the USL Championship’s Las Vegas Lights in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup earlier this year.
The Triumph is coached by former U.S. National Team player John Harkes.
FC Tucson players will wear "walkout shirts" promoting Golazo golden ale, a collaboration between the club and Pueblo Vida Brewing Company.
