FC Tucson is in its first USL League Two “final four,” and it took a bit of a rally Friday afternoon to make it happen.
FC Tucson defeated Project 51O 2-1 at Shea Stadium in Peoria, Illinois, to win the Southern Arizona club’s first Western Conference championship.
The upcoming overall semifinal appearance marks the furthest FC Tucson has ever advanced in the USL League Two or Premier Development postseason. The Men in Black reached the PDL conference final four times previously, prior to the PDL being rebranded as USL League Two.
FC Tucson (10-2-5) advanced to the USL League One semifinals in 2021, but at the time, it was a 12-team league; this season, USL League Two has 128 sides competing, and FCT is one of four out of 35 playoff teams remaining.
On Friday, Project 51O (11-5-1) struck first with a penalty kick goal in the 41st minute. In the 62nd minute, however, FC Tucson forward Paul Caliari scored the equalizer with forward Joao Neves netting the match-winner in the 87th minute.
It’s the first time FC Tucson won a neutral playoff match since the club dispatched the Los Angeles Misioneros 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal in 2014 in Paradise, Nevada. It’s the Men in Black’s first playoff win away from home since they beat the FC Golden State Force 3-1 in penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw on the road in the conference semifinals in 2018.
FC Tucson will face the Central Conference champion on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Arizona time for a spot in the final against the winner of Friday night’s matchup between pod host Peoria City (Illinois) (10-1-3) and the Flint City (Michigan) Bucks (12-1-2). The match was underway as the Star went to press.
