FC Tucson’s Raheem Somersall threads his way past Union Omaha’s Evan Conway, left, and Devin Boyce in the first half of the Men in Black’s 2-1 loss last Saturday.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

With the Arizona Wildcats on hold until 2021, FC Tucson is alone in the local sports spotlight.

And based on early indications, fans in the Tucson community have been quite receptive of the Men in Black through three games.

“We are up over five times in ESPN+ viewership for our games from last year,” FC Tucson president Amanda Powers said this week.

Those games include two road matches and last week’s home opener.

Saturday’s game is must-see TV — well, must-see streaming.

FC Tucson (1-2) begins its longest stint away from home for the season with three straight away games, starting with a showdown against the Richmond Kickers (1-1-1) in Virginia. The Men in Black have lost their last two matches by one goal apiece; the season appears to be at an early tipping point.

The match starts at 3:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

“Our backs are against the wall,” defenseman Charlie Booth said. “We’re not favored to win any of these (road) games but I know we have a talented group.”

Despite the losing skid, Booth and FC Tucson coach John Galas believe things are trending in the right direction. The club scored a goal in stoppage time against Union Omaha, halving the lead.

Booth, who saw his first minutes of the 2020 season in the Union Omaha match, said FC Tucson has had lethargic starts to open the second half in their previous two matches. The club is working to fix it.

“I think we’ll have no issue coming out in the second half,” Booth said. “We have a couple games under our belt and I think we’ve addressed the mistakes that we’ve made.”

Saturday’s game is also significant for the two coaches involved.

Richmond is coached is Darren Sawatzky, who spent the 2019 season as FC Tucson’s boss. Galas, in his first year in charge of the Men in Black, served as Sawatzky’s assistant a year ago.

“It’s obviously somewhat bittersweet because I really enjoyed working with Darren,” Galas said. “But I want to beat him now.”

The two have extensive history coaching against each other. Sawatzky coached Seattle Sounders U-23 squad when Galas was in charge of Lane United FC. Both clubs compete in USL League Two.

“It’s going to be an absolute dogfight,” Galas said.

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