FC Tucson plans for explosive play against Arizona Arsenal to precede postgame July 3 fireworks show

Fireworks are on the postgame schedule for FC Tucson's annual July 3 home tilt.

But during the match itself? The men in Black are hoping for a different kind of explosive output.

As is the team's tradition, FC Tucson's celebrate Independence Day a day early, this time facing the Phoenix-based Arizona Arsenal (4-3-4) Wednesday at 7 p.m.

FC Tucson (5-2-3) comes in with a four-match unbeaten streak and is undefeated in five of its its six.

FCT has hosted an Independence Day match with fireworks after every year since 2011 (save for in 2020). The game draws some of team's biggest crowds each season. The club's highest attendances — counting events that didn't involve an MLS team — were all on July 3 or 4.

The record is 2,983 in 2014, followed by 2,210 in 2017 and 2,168 in 2016. While attendance from last year's July 3 game was unavailable, FCT did draw 1,785 for its last such match as a professional side.

The year's matchup with Arsenal will be FCT's third in eight days.

"It's exciting for the guys to see a lot of people in the stands, it's the extra motivation," FC Tucson head coach Sebastian Pineda said. "Of course coming off a win like this is even extra, so we take a couple of days off and then we go again; we have heavy legs for the tough schedule that we have played and I know they're looking forward for Wednesday."

Pineda has coached in three July 3 matches and was an FC Tucson player for two.

The team has also started a tradition of playing the Guanajuato Selección XI on May 5, with 1,793 coming for the Cinco de Mayo match against the local all-stars last year and 1,400 this season.

FC Tucson academy midfielder Missa Montilla played in the Cinco de Mayo match and scored.

"It felt good. It felt like I was a professional and it inspired me," said Montilla, who also plays for Pima College. "It inspired me to do well and perform."

Last season FC Tucson beat Arsenal 6-2 on July 3. On May 30, the Men in Black tied Arsenal 3-3 in Mesa.

At Kino North Stadium, $1 hot dogs, $2 bomb pops and $3 beers will be available, with the fireworks show scheduled for after the game's conclusion.

Cold Fusion

FC Tucson not only got three points last Friday, but got some revenge.

The Men in Black handed Southern California-based Ventura County Fusion (7-1-2) its first loss of 2024 with a 2-1 win.

At the end of last season, Tucson was on track to host a playoff opener. But despite a chance to win the Southwest Division championship, the Fusion fielded a side of reserves in its finale against Redlands FC, also located in Southern California. Redlands won, 4-1, clinching the division title, and bumping Ventura County into a tie for second place with FC Tucson; VC owned the tiebreaker, however, meaning the two SoCal teams hosted playoff openers, and FC Tucson, despite winning five straight and going undefeated in its last nine to close out the season, was out of the postseason grid altogether.

"You don't forget these things. You don't forget those types of games. So the guys knew; some of the guys that were here knew what happened last year so they came with a different intensity," Pineda said.

FC Tucson tied the Fusion 0-0 on May 24. Last year Ventura County reached the conference finals, falling 4-3 after extra time to Ballard FC from Seattle.

"It was feisty. It's always difficult to play against Ventura," said FC Tucson midfielder William Arnesen, who had two assists. "It's a big fight and luckily we came out on top."

This season FC Tucson beat Redlands 2-1 on the road and 5-1 at home.

Playoff primer

With the win over the Fusion, FC Tucson moved into second place and, yet again, a possible playoff position.

USL League Two's postseason features 35 teams, including eight from the Western Conference and two from FC Tucson's Southwest Division.

Ventura County leads the way with 26 points, with FCT in second with 18, 1.8 per match and a goal differential of plus-12.

AMSG FC (of Westminster, California; with 17 points), Redlands FC (18 points), Arsenal (16 points) and Capo FC (of San Juan Capistrano, California, with 16 points) are the other sides in playoff contention in the Southwest. FC Tucson's goal differential trails only VC and is five ahead of the teams with the third most (Redlands and Capo); FCT's points per match is .1 ahead of second-place AMSG and .35 ahead of sixth-place Capo.

Three of FC Tucson's last four matches are at home, where FCT is 3-1 in league play and 6-1 in all competitions. The team's lone remaining road match is at the Southern California Eagles (1-9-1) of La Mirada, California; FCT beat the Eagles 6-0 on June 21.

Streak reaches six

FC Tucson defender/forward Elian Aguilar may be as hot as the Tucson weather.

In the win over the Fusion, the Colombian scored in the 35th minute to extend his scoring streak to six matches.

"It's his strength. We talk about it. I give him my trust. He has my confidence," Pineda said. "If he can turn and shoot it most likely it's going on target and right now it's going in It's one of those things that happens in soccer."

FC Tucson has gone 4-1-1 in the streak, which started on June 9 in a 2-1 win at Redlands FC.

Aguilar has seven goals this season, playing 472 minutes over 10 FCT matches.

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