Fresno Fuego: Alcorn bids farewell as coach in season-ending loss

Scott Alcorn had a tough pill to swallow as he parted ways with the Fresno Fuego after nine years at the helm.

A win would have eased the sendoff in the Fuego’s Premier Development League season finale Saturday, but FC Tucson played spoiler with a 3-1 victory at Chukchansi Park.

Nonetheless, Alcorn accepted the farewell with open arms, thanking the club, family, friends and fans for their support over the years.

The team honored the 49-year-old Fresno native with a lifetime achievement award and the City of Fresno issued a proclamation declaring it as “Coach Scott Alcorn Day.”

The outpouring of support brought Alcorn to tears throughout the evening.

“This whole time I have just been helping kids every day,” he said. “I had no idea of the impact. I’m emotional and grateful to everyone.”

A pregame video featured Fuego alums and current pros Pablo Campos, Jose Cuevas, Devon Grousis and Cyprian Hedrick thanking Alcorn for his dedication.

Grousis, who is with Arizona United of the USL but recovering from an injury, flew in to Fresno and arrived at the stadium in time to catch the final minutes and deliver a personal farewell.

“There’s nothing that can explain how awesome it feels every day to play soccer for a living. And it’s just if I hadn’t met that man, there’s probably no way I’d be around that right now,” Grousis said.

The Fuego controlled possession early but a foul from Sergi Nus just outside the penalty area put FC Tucson in position to attack as forward Ozzie Ramos scored off the free kick for the first lead of the match in the 37th minute.

Fresno was not down long, as Gaston Cignetti headed in a cross from Bruno Brumati to tie 2 minutes later.

FC Tucson broke away after halftime, as David Clemons and Pedro Espindola hooked up for one goal and one assist each.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Fresno Fuego: Alcorn bids farewell as coach in season-ending loss."