TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — From scoring the first goal in FC Tucson history back in 2012, fan favorite Donny Toia has made way back to his hometown soil.
FC Tucson announced one of its biggest signings in club history back in June when the leading scorer and tenacious defender agreed to a contract with the team for the remainder of the 2022 season.
“I reached out to Jon, and we had a nice conversation about what the possibilities were of coming back and he of course was all for it and we just made it happen,” said Toia.
Before returning to Tucson, the MLS veteran spent his most recent time with Real Salt Lake where he was named the team’s first Homegrown Player to be signed by MLS.
FC Tucson head coach, Jon Pearlman, had been hinting at a new addition to the struggling roster prior to the new deal.
“We’re very close. You know, like a big brother and little brother and we were discussing basically his future and since our futures lined up, well I needed a player of that caliber and he wanted to stay home and keep his career going. We decided on a deal that would allow him to do both things but give him the flexibility to go back up if that was possible and have a stable situation with his young family,” said coach Jon Pearlman.
Toia’s return to the team nearly a decade later has not only allowed him to up his skill sets, but also provide leadership on the field.
“When he is on the field, he is serious. When he is on the field, he brings quality. When he is on the field, he brings leadership. So to have a guy come from the MLS and to still have that attitude, to drop two leagues down, often times you know they are sitting alone eating lunch and breakfast by themselves, sitting in the locker room pouting and Donny is the complete opposite,” said the FC Tucson defender, Kaelon Fox.
After receiving a red card following his last scored goal in a match against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC, Toia will not be traveling with the team as they face defending league champions, Union Omaha, this Saturday.
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Breanna Isbell is a reporter for KGUN 9. She joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in sports journalism from Arizona State University in May. Share your story ideas with Breanna by emailing breanna.isbell@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
