Fort Lauderdale CF fell 2-1 on the road against FC Tucson at Kino North Stadium in a highly contested matchup.
The hosts started the match on the right foot, constantly creating danger in attack, but Fort Lauderdale stood firm in defense to keep away the danger early on. Tucson, however, opened the scoring in the 34th minute of the match; midfielder Giovanni Calixtro fed the ball to Deri Corfe on the edge of the box, who then controlled the pass and unleashed a right-footed shot that found the back of the net to put his team 1-0 up on the scoreboard before halftime.
Fort Lauderdale then responded with a goal of its own in the opening stages of the second half. In the 48th minute, Inter Miami loanee Edison Azcona took advantage of a mistake by the goalkeeper, who’s long touch when controlling a back pass allowed the speedy winger to win the ball and slot it into the back of the net with a precise right-footed strike from outside the box to tie the match 1-1.
Both teams then pushed to find the winning goal, with Tucson once again taking the lead in the 76th minute. Midfielder Manuel Ferriol received a pass from Charlie Dennis outside the box before scoring with a right-footed shot to the lower left hand side corner of the goal to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.
Fort Lauderdale then seemed to have found the equalizing goal in the fourth minute of added time when a header by Jason Bucknor inside the box bounced off the post. Despite the visitor’s efforts, Tucson held onto the lead and won the match 2-1.
Fort Lauderdale will rest next weekend before returning to action on Saturday, July 17, when it travels to take on the Richmond Kickers at City Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET.
