It was difficult for FC Tucson to see the bright side after watching one streak end quickly and another flame out at the end Thursday night.
The coaches and players will have to settle with being in a tie for first place in the division after drawing 1-1 with Los Angeles Misioneros at Kino Sports Complex North Field No. 5.
Before 586 on Thursday, the club may have also found out how to overcome a deficit despite watching a seven-match winning streak disappear.
The club's shutout streak ended early with a Misioneros goal in the third minute. Tucson had not allowed a league goal in 548 minutes. The previous time the Tucson net had been bulged was the first match of the season, May 5 at Fresno.
FC Tucson will face its top-of-the-table rivals, the Ventura County Fusion, in California on Saturday before taking on the Misioneros in a rematch in Los Angeles on Monday.
In the third minute Thursday, Los Angeles forward Jaime Chavez struck a hard, low free kick from about 20 yards that goalkeeper Michael D'Arrigo couldn't control. As the ball squibbed away, D'Arrigo blocked a rebound. But Victor Mendoza pounced on it and tapped it over the goal line just before colliding with D'Arrigo.
"It was almost great that it happened so quickly," FC Tucson coach Rick Schantz said of the shutout streak ending. "It wasn't like it was a buildup in the 70th minute and a disastrous moment."
FC Tucson tried to deal with the adversity quickly. Less than a minute after the goal, FC Tucson tried to answer back, forcing L.A. goalkeeper Aldo Iniguez to push away a shot for a corner.
FC Tucson kept up pressure all half, outshooting the Misioneros 10-4 and having a 6-1 advantage in corners in the first 45 minutes.
The second half started much the same as the first with FC Tucson putting pressure on the L.A. defense and the Misioneros counterattacking.
The Tucson club's many opportunities finally paid off in the 63rd minute. Reid Schmitt sliced a ball into the box that defender Conor Spence met with a diving header that bounced off the turf and up into the goal.
"It was kind of all a blur," Spence said of the goal. "Reid found me at the back post with a perfect ball. I couldn't have asked for a better ball, and I was lucky enough to get my head on it and find the goal.
Corner kick
• FC Tucson defender Travis Campbell was named USL PDL Player of the Week on Thursday. He scored a goal and helped the club claim two shutouts on last week's trip to Utah.
Up next
• What: FC Tucson at Ventura County
• When: 7 p.m. Sunday
• Radio: 990-AM (Spanish)
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