FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ earned its first professional playoff berth and a postseason home match with a convincing win in the regular-season finale.
FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (11-10-7) beat the Richmond Kickers 4-2 on Saturday night at home before a crowd of 1,566 at Kino North Stadium.
The win continued FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s rise from 11th place (out of 12) when Jon Pearlman took over as interim coach in late June.
“What a night for the community, what a night for our fans,†said FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Pearlman, who was named the permanent coach three weeks ago. “It’s certainly very emotional for me. I was given a task, I was given an opportunity and I’m just, again, continuing to be grateful. We continue to play for our fans and in front of our fans.â€
FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ is 9-6-4 since Pearlman took over.
The Men in Black will host the Kickers (11-10-7) again next Saturday in the first round of the playoffs. FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ finished level with Richmond on points with 40 but earned the No. 4 seed in the playoffs due to a better goal differential. Richmond won the first meeting this year between the two teams, beating visiting FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ 1-0 on July 31.
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Saturday, Richmond struck first with a goal in the 21st minute by Kickers midfielder Jonathan Bolanos against the run of play. Then in the 24th minute FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ defender Maxi Schenfeld responded with the equalizer.
FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ forward Deri Corfe put the Men in Black ahead with a long-distance goal in the 42nd minute.
Mohamed Kone helped FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ clinch a postseason bid with a 4-2 win Saturday at Kino North Stadium.
About a minute after Richmond scored a penalty kick, FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ defender Luca Mastrantonio scored on a corner kick to give the Men in Black the lead back.
Then in the 58th minute FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ forward Shak Adams scored to make it 4-2.
“I was lucky enough to able to be a part of the history of FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to make the playoffs,†Adams said.
The last time FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ scored four goals was on Aug. 22.
The Kickers outshot FC ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ 15-11 but the hosts had the edge in shots on target, 7-4.
The USL League One postseason includes the top six teams, with the first- and second-place sides getting first-round byes.
"It’s great not having to travel, most of the teams that we play are like really far from us, so we have a huge travel every time,†Mastrantonio said. “We need to take two flights, wake up really early in the morning, so the fact that we have a game against a team that we just played, I think that it’s the best situation that could ever happen for us.â€
