FC Tucson, Kino North Stadium Make History in Hosting First Playoff
For the first time, Kino North Stadium will host a professional soccer playoff game. FC Tucson will face off against the Richmond Kickers on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the first round of the USL League One Playoffs presented by Twin Spires.
FC Tucson was unbeaten in its last three matches, including a 4-2 win over Richmond last Saturday, to earn the playoff spot and a first-round home game. FC Tucson and Richmond both finished 11-10-7 (wins, losses, draws). FC Tucson earned the right to host the game by virtue of a better goal differential (goals scored minus goals allowed) on the season.
The top six teams in the 12-team USL League One qualify for the playoffs. Sixth-seeded North Texas SC will play at No. 3 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC also on Saturday. The winners of this weekend’s matches will be paired up against either No. 1 Union Omaha or No. 2 Greenville Triumph SC in the semifinals Saturday, Nov. 13. The championship match will be held on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the higher-ranked team among the two finalists.
For FC Tucson, the postseason is somewhat familiar.
The team was founded as an amateur club in 2011 and played in the Premier Development League from 2012-18. During that time, FC Tucson went to the postseason six times and reached the Western Conference finals four times.
This is the first time that the team has reached the playoffs since it became a professional club in 2019. The team is coached by Jon Pearlman. Pearlman, who has coached Tucson for more than 25 years, was one of the original founders of FC Tucson. He began this year as Vice President of Soccer Operations. However, after a 2-4-3 start that left the team near the bottom of the standings, Pearlman stepped in as interim head coach.
In the final half of the season, FC Tucson hit its stride. The team went 7-2-3 to climb up the standings and clinch its first professional playoff spot. At the beginning of October, Pearlman was named the head coach for the remainder of the season and for 2022.
Tickets are available at www.FCTucson.com/tickets or by calling the team office at 520-600-3095, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., now through Friday. Tickets are also available on game day at the front gate.
