With the two meetings featuring the teams in the top half of the standings ending all square, this weekend provided plenty to talk about after FC Tucson took advantage of stalemates elsewhere. Here are five things we took away from the action.

LANSING LOSES CONTROL: With the teams narrowly below it in the standings all holding multiple games in hand, Lansing Ignite FC knew it needed to take three points from its visit to Toronto FC II on Friday evening to create a little cushion in third place in League One. Given that, its 3-3 draw against the Reds will be that much more painful after a two-goal lead slipped away in the final 15 minutes and left Lansing’s position highly vulnerable to the chasing pack. “Obviously anytime you concede late like that, in a situation where you’re up two, it’d be nicer for us to control the game a little,” said assistant coach Joel DeLass. “After we were up 3-1, I think they pressed us a little bit more and we couldn’t handle the ball well enough. So, we need to get better as a team at managing those situations.” Ignite FC’s visit to Tormenta FC this Saturday and home contest against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on July 31 are setting up as crucial contests.

REDS DIG WAY BACK: Three points would have been big for Toronto FC II as well, but the draw certainly wasn’t as detrimental to the club’s playoff hopes as it was for Lansing. With a three-point gap to third place and three games in hand, the Reds’ comeback left them in good position to earn a postseason position. The draw also kept Toronto undefeated on its home turf this season, and while Head Coach Michael Rabasca would have preferred to see the energy and flow the side produced in the final 25 minutes more consistently, the comeback augurs well for where this team will end the season. “I think it's a little unfortunate that we decided to play like we had nothing to lose after a couple of goals,” said Rabasca. “The last 20-25 minutes are what we are capable of all the time. So that’s the takeaway and the lesson, and the steps we take forward. I think it’s a good message, I’m glad it happened, you don’t really find out who you are unless you face some holes.”

UPWARDLY MOBILE: Both Greenville Triumph SC and FC Tucson knew what was at stake on Saturday night, especially given the draw between Toronto FC II and Lansing Ignite FC the previous day, and it showed in a contest where hosts Greenville had the upper hand for good portions of the game only for Tucson to finish decisively in a 3-1 victory at Legacy Early College. Tucson had only six shots for the game, put only three on target, but all three found the back of the net as Devyn Jambga produced two outstanding finishes to move FCT up to sixth in the standings, two points out of the playoff positions. With four points from the opening two games of what is looking like a season-defining road trip, Tucson has put itself into the conversation as a playoff contender ahead of its visit to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC next weekend. There’s still little margin for error – a loss to the Red Wolves would hurt those playoff chances badly – but Head Coach Darren Sawatzky’s side has at least given itself that opportunity.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: As he stood waiting to take the penalty kick with 14 minutes to go, you would likely have wagered a decent amount of money that Ricardo Pepi was going to convert from the spot and give North Texas SC the lead it deserved against South Georgia Tormenta FC. Instead, the effort summed up the night for the hosts as it flew wide of the right post and left the game scoreless and points shared at Toyota Stadium. In the big picture, the draw won’t matter much to NTSC, which still holds an eight-point lead over the rest of the teams in League One, but on a night when it outshot South Georgia 14-2 and didn’t allow a shot on goal it will have been frustrating for the young side not to have found the breakthrough as it put only two shots on target and hit the woodwork twice. 

SILVER LININGS: There’s been precious little for Richmond Kickers fans to smile about in the past couple of months, but Saturday’s 1-0 win against Orlando City B moved the side off the bottom of the standings and broke a scoreless streak that had stretched to 620 minutes until Dennis Chin found the winner with 20 minutes to go in the contest. With the Kickers dominant in possession and chances against their visitors to City Stadium, Richmond easily could have put up a more comfortable final score, but at this point getting a positive result on the board is the most important thing. “It’s been a long time coming,” said Chin. “I feel like we’ve been pretty unlucky so far this season, with a lot of our bounces and it’s good to break this streak and move on. We probably should have had three or four more, but hey, we’ll take this one, especially with the three points.”