News Archive

TULSA – It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and get back up.  

After picking up a huge three points in the midweek, FC Tulsa sought to keep it rolling against LouCity. FC Tulsa faltered early, giving up three goals in the first 10 minutes, however, FC Tulsa flipped a switch over the next 80 minutes, largely dominating the match and pulling two goals back with Rodrigo da Costa slotting one home in the 22’, and Marlon Santos blazing down the right wing to finish a streaking solo effort in the 55’.

Friday evening presents a great opportunity for FC Tulsa to make a statement to the entire league. The black and gold travel down to Edinburg, TX to take on Western Conference-leading Rio Grande Valley FC. The matchup harkens back to a memorable trip south last season, when FC Tulsa traveled to H-E-B Park to take on the Toros, in a weather-delayed match that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. FC Tulsa came away with its first victory of the season, winning 2-1 after a late penalty.

How to Watch

TV: My41
Stream: ESPN+ (US), YouTube (International)
Follow: You can follow @FCTulsa on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SCOUTING RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC

RGV FC sits atop of the Western Conference and the Mountain Division, but the club from south Texas will walk into H-E-B Park seeking a positive result. Their last two matches have resulted in a loss and a draw. The squad’s leading scorer is Elvis Amoh with 4 goals, the top distributor is James Murphy with 3 assists, and goalkeeper Tyler Deric has kept 3 clean sheets to his name. Deric has only conceded 8 goals this season, and he is top 10 in the league in saves. 

THINGS TO KNOW

1) Familiar Faces
On Friday, four current FC Tulsa players will be returning to a venue they once called home. Defenders Bradley Bourgeois and Kevin Garcia, and Midfielder Eric Bird all played for RGVFC early in their careers. The three players all played for the club in it’s inaugural 2016 season, where they made the playoffs. Midfielder Kembo Kibato is currently on loan from RGVFC and played all 90 minutes against FC Tulsa last season in Edinburgh, while coming off the bench in the matchup at ONEOK Field which saw RGVFC take the 2-0 victory. 

2) da Costa Chasing History
Midfielder Rodrigo da Costa has gotten off to a blistering start in the 2021 season, notching 3 goals and 3 assists a quarter of the way through the season. Currently, he is on pace for 12 goals and 12 assists for the year, a statline that would only be the sixth “double-double” season in USL Championship history. If he accomplishes this feat, he would also become the first player in USL Championship history to record 10+ assists in more than one season. 

3) High Scorers vs. Strong Defenders
Friday evening will be a showcase of one of the league’s highest scoring squads in FC Tulsa, and one of the most solid backlines in RGVFC. With 15 goals in 8 matches, FC Tulsa sits at 4th most goals scored in the USL Championship, while RGVFC has conceded the seventh-fewest goals in the league, giving up 7 goals in 8 matches. 

How to Watch

Every FC Tulsa match this USL Championship season, home and road, will be broadcast locally throughout Tulsa on My41. Fans can also tune in on ESPN+ in the US, and YouTube international.

As always, follow @FCTulsa on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and download the FC Tulsa App to get all news, highlights and updates throughout the match.

TULSA – It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and get back up.  

After picking up a huge three points in the midweek, FC Tulsa sought to keep it rolling against LouCity. FC Tulsa faltered early, giving up three goals in the first 10 minutes, however, FC Tulsa flipped a switch over the next 80 minutes, largely dominating the match and pulling two goals back with Rodrigo da Costa slotting one home in the 22’, and Marlon Santos blazing down the right wing to finish a streaking solo effort in the 55’.

Friday evening presents a great opportunity for FC Tulsa to make a statement to the entire league. The black and gold travel down to Edinburg, TX to take on Western Conference-leading Rio Grande Valley FC. The matchup harkens back to a memorable trip south last season, when FC Tulsa traveled to H-E-B Park to take on the Toros, in a weather-delayed match that lasted until nearly 2 a.m. FC Tulsa came away with its first victory of the season, winning 2-1 after a late penalty.

How to Watch

TV: My41
Stream: ESPN+ (US), YouTube (International)
Follow: You can follow @FCTulsa on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SCOUTING RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC

RGV FC sits atop of the Western Conference and the Mountain Division, but the club from south Texas will walk into H-E-B Park seeking a positive result. Their last two matches have resulted in a loss and a draw. The squad’s leading scorer is Elvis Amoh with 4 goals, the top distributor is James Murphy with 3 assists, and goalkeeper Tyler Deric has kept 3 clean sheets to his name. Deric has only conceded 8 goals this season, and he is top 10 in the league in saves. 

THINGS TO KNOW

1) Familiar Faces
On Friday, four current FC Tulsa players will be returning to a venue they once called home. Defenders Bradley Bourgeois and Kevin Garcia, and Midfielder Eric Bird all played for RGVFC early in their careers. The three players all played for the club in it’s inaugural 2016 season, where they made the playoffs. Midfielder Kembo Kibato is currently on loan from RGVFC and played all 90 minutes against FC Tulsa last season in Edinburgh, while coming off the bench in the matchup at ONEOK Field which saw RGVFC take the 2-0 victory. 

2) da Costa Chasing History
Midfielder Rodrigo da Costa has gotten off to a blistering start in the 2021 season, notching 3 goals and 3 assists a quarter of the way through the season. Currently, he is on pace for 12 goals and 12 assists for the year, a statline that would only be the sixth “double-double” season in USL Championship history. If he accomplishes this feat, he would also become the first player in USL Championship history to record 10+ assists in more than one season. 

3) High Scorers vs. Strong Defenders
Friday evening will be a showcase of one of the league’s highest scoring squads in FC Tulsa, and one of the most solid backlines in RGVFC. With 15 goals in 8 matches, FC Tulsa sits at 4th most goals scored in the USL Championship, while RGVFC has conceded the seventh-fewest goals in the league, giving up 7 goals in 8 matches. 

How to Watch

Every FC Tulsa match this USL Championship season, home and road, will be broadcast locally throughout Tulsa on My41. Fans can also tune in on ESPN+ in the US, and YouTube international.

As always, follow @FCTulsa on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and download the FC Tulsa App to get all news, highlights and updates throughout the match.

TULSA – On Saturday night FC Tulsa showed its grit, nearly fighting back from a three-goal deficit before eventually falling 3-2 to Louisville City FC. Louisville City punched early, scoring all three of its goals in the first 10 minutes, before FC Tulsa got one in the first half and another early in the second. Ultimately, the comeback stalled and FC Tulsa was handed its first home defeat in its last eight matches. 

LouCity got going early as forward Cameron Lancaster scored an Olimpico (a goal directly from a corner kick) in the 2' minute, right back Jonathan Gomez added a second in the 7' and Lancaster got his second from a penalty in the 10'. Just like that, FC Tulsa was facing its first multi-goal deficit of the new era of the franchise.

FC Tulsa struck back in the 22' minute off the boot of midfielder Rodrigo da Costa. The Brazilian found the net in his fourth consecutive home match. He took a pass from Darío Suárez and left the Louisville defense in the dust, scoring his third of the season. 

Then, Tulsa midfielder Marlon Santos made things more interesting with a great solo effort of his own in the 55' minutes, narrowing the deficit to one. Tulsa's best chance to tie came just two minutes later when Joaquín Rivas found himself in alone on LouCity keeper Chris Hubbard, but the goalie made a big time stop of the Salvadoran international to maintain the lead. 

Louisville saw the win out in the final 35 minutes as  FC Tulsa fell back to .500 at 4-0-4. The match marks the quarter-pole of the season as eight of the 32 matches have now been played.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

1) Defensive Struggles Continue
After a stellar defensive season in 2020, FC Tulsa has regressed dramatically over the last five matches. Allowing a total of 15 goals in 15 regular season matches last year, Tulsa has allowed 17 in its last five matches, with at least three in four of the five. FC Tulsa's 18 total goals allowed are the third most in the USL Championship this season. 

2) Da Costa Loves Being Home
Rodrigo da Costa owns ONEOK Field. With goals in each of his last four home matches dating back to the 2020 home finale, da Costa has looked very comfortable on home soil. Da Costa now has 16 career goals for FC Tulsa over the last three seasons with 18 total assists. Those totals rank third and first in club history, respectively.

3) Home Streaks End
FC Tulsa's home winning and unbeaten streaks both came to an end on Saturday night in the loss to Louisville City FC. The unbeaten streak stood at seven matches while the winning streak was stopped at five. Both were the longest such streaks in franchise history.

UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will head back on the road for a Friday night matchup against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. The teams met twice last season with FC Tulsa winning both matches by identical 2-1 scorelines. It will be the first "out of division" match for Tulsa as the Toros play in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference. 

TULSA – On Saturday night FC Tulsa showed its grit, nearly fighting back from a three-goal deficit before eventually falling 3-2 to Louisville City FC. Louisville City punched early, scoring all three of its goals in the first 10 minutes, before FC Tulsa got one in the first half and another early in the second. Ultimately, the comeback stalled and FC Tulsa was handed its first home defeat in its last eight matches. 

LouCity got going early as forward Cameron Lancaster scored an Olimpico (a goal directly from a corner kick) in the 2′ minute, right back Jonathan Gomez added a second in the 7′ and Lancaster got his second from a penalty in the 10′. Just like that, FC Tulsa was facing its first multi-goal deficit of the new era of the franchise.

FC Tulsa struck back in the 22′ minute off the boot of midfielder Rodrigo da Costa. The Brazilian found the net in his fourth consecutive home match. He took a pass from Darío Suárez and left the Louisville defense in the dust, scoring his third of the season. 

Then, Tulsa midfielder Marlon Santos made things more interesting with a great solo effort of his own in the 55′ minutes, narrowing the deficit to one. Tulsa’s best chance to tie came just two minutes later when Joaquín Rivas found himself in alone on LouCity keeper Chris Hubbard, but the goalie made a big time stop of the Salvadoran international to maintain the lead. 

Louisville saw the win out in the final 35 minutes as  FC Tulsa fell back to .500 at 4-0-4. The match marks the quarter-pole of the season as eight of the 32 matches have now been played.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

1) Defensive Struggles Continue
After a stellar defensive season in 2020, FC Tulsa has regressed dramatically over the last five matches. Allowing a total of 15 goals in 15 regular season matches last year, Tulsa has allowed 17 in its last five matches, with at least three in four of the five. FC Tulsa’s 18 total goals allowed are the third most in the USL Championship this season. 

2) Da Costa Loves Being Home
Rodrigo da Costa owns ONEOK Field. With goals in each of his last four home matches dating back to the 2020 home finale, da Costa has looked very comfortable on home soil. Da Costa now has 16 career goals for FC Tulsa over the last three seasons with 18 total assists. Those totals rank third and first in club history, respectively.

3) Home Streaks End
FC Tulsa’s home winning and unbeaten streaks both came to an end on Saturday night in the loss to Louisville City FC. The unbeaten streak stood at seven matches while the winning streak was stopped at five. Both were the longest such streaks in franchise history.

UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will head back on the road for a Friday night matchup against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. The teams met twice last season with FC Tulsa winning both matches by identical 2-1 scorelines. It will be the first “out of division” match for Tulsa as the Toros play in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference. 

TULSA – Back on Tulsa time. 

Forty-six days away from ONEOK Field made Wednesday night's 4-3 victory over Sporting KC II that much more sweet for FC Tulsa. After more than six weeks on the road, FC Tulsa heard the roar of the home fans four times in the victory, which was just enough to hang on to the three points. 

The stars shined bright as Rodrigo da Costa, Marlon Santos, Darío Suárez and Joaquín Rivas all found the back of the net in the first four-goal offensive output in FC Tulsa era.

Looking like a mirror of the matchup two weeks ago between the sides, Kansas City struck early in the first half before FC Tulsa found the net just before halftime. Da Costa score the first in the 42' and almost a second during first half stoppage, but fellow Brazilian Marlon Santos cleaned up the deflection off the SKC II keeper to tap in the go-ahead tally.

The floodgates opened in the second half when Suárez earned and then finished a penalty before Rivas sliced through the Sporting KC II backline to make it 4-1. A rout turned into a squeaker in the final five minutes as late substitute Tyler Freeman scored twice to make it 4-3 before the final whistle. 

The three points push FC Tulsa to third place in the Central Division, one point behind Saturday's opponent Louisville City FC.

Here are three takeaways from the victory. 

1) DA COSTA THE DIFFERENCE

This is the Rodrigo da Costa we all remember from 2019 – scoring goals, setting others up and being the straw that stirs the FC Tulsa drink.

After a quiet first 40 minutes offensively for the entire FC Tulsa team, Rodrigo da Costa sparked the fire that got FC Tulsa in front at halftime. The Brazilian midfielder bagged the equalizer before doing the heavy lifting on the second tally just before the halftime whistle. He won't get on the scoresheet for the second, but a nearly identical shot to his goal three minutes earlier made it an easy tap-in for Santos. Ultimately, da Costa bagged his assist on Tulsa's final goal of the night after a fancy 1-2 linkup with Joaquín Rivas, giving him three helpers in 2021, tied for second in the USL Championship.

2) RIVAS ENDS LONG DAY ON HIGH NOTE

Less than 24 hours after stepping on the pitch in the second of FC Tulsa's victory on Wednesday, Joaquín Rivas was cheering on his Salvadoran teammates to victory and to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning with just two hours of sleep, Rivas boarded a plane from El Salvador to Houston and then Houston to Tulsa to get back into town this afternoon. 

Not lack of sleep nor international travel could keep Rivas from the scoresheet as he played nearly 40 minutes and secured the match-winning goal off the bench. The goal was Rivas' fifth of the season and 22 of his Tulsa career, the most in club history.

3) THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

Ah, beautiful ONEOK Field. FC Tulsa's home sweet home continues to be a sanctuary as the win extended FC Tulsa's franchise-best home unbeaten streak to seven matches and winning streak to five matches.Both streaks are the longest in franchise history and dates back to the last time Sporting Kansas City II played in Tulsa, August 29, 2020. 

That match in 2020 remains the only time FC Tulsa has lost at ONEOK in this new era of the franchise, going 6W-1L-3D in 10 home matches over the two seasons. 

UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will be right back at ONEOK Field on Saturday night against the two-time league champions, Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. It'll be the first meeting between the sides since FC Tulsa's inaugural USL Championship season in 2015. Louisville City FC has advanced to every Eastern Conference Final since 2015, won the USL Championship Final in 2017 and 2018 and was the runner-up in 2019. 

TULSA – Back on Tulsa time. 

Forty-six days away from ONEOK Field made Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over Sporting KC II that much more sweet for FC Tulsa. After more than six weeks on the road, FC Tulsa heard the roar of the home fans four times in the victory, which was just enough to hang on to the three points. 

The stars shined bright as Rodrigo da Costa, Marlon Santos, Darío Suárez and Joaquín Rivas all found the back of the net in the first four-goal offensive output in FC Tulsa era.

Looking like a mirror of the matchup two weeks ago between the sides, Kansas City struck early in the first half before FC Tulsa found the net just before halftime. Da Costa score the first in the 42′ and almost a second during first half stoppage, but fellow Brazilian Marlon Santos cleaned up the deflection off the SKC II keeper to tap in the go-ahead tally.

The floodgates opened in the second half when Suárez earned and then finished a penalty before Rivas sliced through the Sporting KC II backline to make it 4-1. A rout turned into a squeaker in the final five minutes as late substitute Tyler Freeman scored twice to make it 4-3 before the final whistle. 

The three points push FC Tulsa to third place in the Central Division, one point behind Saturday’s opponent Louisville City FC.

Here are three takeaways from the victory. 

1) DA COSTA THE DIFFERENCE

This is the Rodrigo da Costa we all remember from 2019 – scoring goals, setting others up and being the straw that stirs the FC Tulsa drink.

After a quiet first 40 minutes offensively for the entire FC Tulsa team, Rodrigo da Costa sparked the fire that got FC Tulsa in front at halftime. The Brazilian midfielder bagged the equalizer before doing the heavy lifting on the second tally just before the halftime whistle. He won’t get on the scoresheet for the second, but a nearly identical shot to his goal three minutes earlier made it an easy tap-in for Santos. Ultimately, da Costa bagged his assist on Tulsa’s final goal of the night after a fancy 1-2 linkup with Joaquín Rivas, giving him three helpers in 2021, tied for second in the USL Championship.

2) RIVAS ENDS LONG DAY ON HIGH NOTE

Less than 24 hours after stepping on the pitch in the second of FC Tulsa’s victory on Wednesday, Joaquín Rivas was cheering on his Salvadoran teammates to victory and to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning with just two hours of sleep, Rivas boarded a plane from El Salvador to Houston and then Houston to Tulsa to get back into town this afternoon. 

Not lack of sleep nor international travel could keep Rivas from the scoresheet as he played nearly 40 minutes and secured the match-winning goal off the bench. The goal was Rivas’ fifth of the season and 22 of his Tulsa career, the most in club history.

3) THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

Ah, beautiful ONEOK Field. FC Tulsa’s home sweet home continues to be a sanctuary as the win extended FC Tulsa’s franchise-best home unbeaten streak to seven matches and winning streak to five matches.Both streaks are the longest in franchise history and dates back to the last time Sporting Kansas City II played in Tulsa, August 29, 2020. 

That match in 2020 remains the only time FC Tulsa has lost at ONEOK in this new era of the franchise, going 6W-1L-3D in 10 home matches over the two seasons. 

UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will be right back at ONEOK Field on Saturday night against the two-time league champions, Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. It’ll be the first meeting between the sides since FC Tulsa’s inaugural USL Championship season in 2015. Louisville City FC has advanced to every Eastern Conference Final since 2015, won the USL Championship Final in 2017 and 2018 and was the runner-up in 2019.