Mike Fucito used his speed and tenacity to cause problems for FC Dallas. He could do the same against Real Salt Lake this weekend.
He may not have scored on Wednesday, but there was no denying Mike Fucito’s impact on the match against FC Dallas.
The third-year forward from Harvard was in his first MLS start and he made the night difficult for the Dallas defense, buzzing around and causing havoc for George John and Ugo Ihemelu. With three shots on goal and five total, he made sure it wasn’t an easy night for goalkeeper Kevin Hartman either.
“It was good. It was an opportunity that I’ve been waiting for for a while,” Fucito said. “I was glad that I was able to last 90 minutes, but frustrated that I didn’t score.”
One of the reasons Fucito was able to get into positions to score was that Dallas uses bigger center backs. John, a Seattle native who was recently called in to the Greek National Team, stands 6-foot-3 and Ihemelu is six-foot and both utilize their size to their advantage.
The same can be said for Fucito, who at 5-foot-6 and with blazing speed can zip around into open spaces going largely unimpeded.
“They were bigger defenders,” Fucito said. “I had two or three chances that, on a different day, might have fallen my way.”
With similar size in the Real Salt Lake defenders Jamison Olave (6’3”) and Nat Borchers (6’2”) the Sounders will face this weekend, Fucito may again be called on again to cause a stir in the opposing defense.
With Steve Zakuani and O’Brian White out of the lineup, nobody on the Sounders roster is more capable of using their speed and quickness to get behind defenders.
Even still, Fucito finds himself pacing himself and picking his times since he is growing accustomed to playing 90 minutes. As he rounds out his fitness, he is getting improving in that area.
The goals, though, he knows will come. It’s just a matter of capturing the right moment.
“You never know where the ball is going to fall in the game,” he said. “You have to adjust and just get in good habits and see the ball hit the back of the net.”
