NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



FC Tulsa

Roughnecks Fall in Black Gold Derby

August 21, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


Roughnecks Fall in Black Gold Derby
Roughnecks Fall in Black Gold Derby
(FC Tulsa, Credit: Lori Scholl)

The recent struggles endured by the Tulsa Roughnecks FC continued Saturday night, as the Roughnecks lost 2-0 to the Oklahoma City Energy FC in front of 4,170 at ONEOK Field. The Energy wrapped up the season series between the two teams with the victory. There is one match remaining, next Saturday night at OKC's Taft Stadium, in what supporters have dubbed the Black Gold Derby.

"It's two years in a row, it's tough to swallow," TRFC Head Coach David Irving said of dropping the season series to the Energy. "We were in the game, it was just a couple of mistakes, again. It's the same story, I feel. Things just aren't going our way at the moment. Credit to our boys, they worked hard, they showed that we have something, but we just couldn't prevail."

The win lifted Oklahoma City (9-3-10) into a four-way tie for first place in the USL's Western Conference.

Meanwhile, with just six games remaining, and only two left at home, Tulsa appears sure to miss the playoffs and is seven points out of second-to-last place in the West. It's clear the toll of a frustrating season is wearing on them.

"No excuses," Irving said. "It's hasn't been the season that we wanted. I'm accountable, I'm responsible, and I hold up my end of that. It's not what we expected. I think we have better players than last year, but we're not going to be a better team than last year. It's just disappointing."

"It's not good enough," added Roughnecks striker Sammy Ochoa, who leads the team and ranks tied for fifth in the USL with 10 goals, although he has just one in the last six outings.

Captain Sammy Ochoa battles for a header in Saturday's match. (Photo by Rich Crimi)

"It's not the first time, it's been going on the whole season. I don't know what's going on - we work hard at practice, we do the right things at practice, and come game time, we don't execute, we make dumb mistakes. It's the same story again. We have just got to keep working at it, and hopefully we stop making mistakes and finish the season off strong."

The Energy took control of the match early, jumping out to a 1-0 lead just seven minutes in, on Timo Pitter's second goal of the season. After a Tulsa defender deflected an OKC pass into the middle, the ball ricocheted out to Pitter, and he drilled a 28-yard blast into the upper right corner, off the hand of goalkeeper Alex Mangels.

It was the Energy's first goal in five games, a stretch in which they went 0-1-3, dating back to the last time these teams met, a 3-0 OKC victory on July 23.

Tulsa's best opportunity in the first half came in the 25th minute, when Henri boomed a 25-yard shot that forced Energy goalkeeper Cody Laurendi, who entered the contest leading the USL with a 0.63 goals-against average, to make a lunging save.

The Roughnecks had another scoring chance in the 58th minute when Jasson Ramos Carpio drilled a free kick from 30 yards out over the wall, but Laurendi made another nice save. He finished with five stops total to earn his 11th shutout of the year.

Tulsa dodged a bullet in the 62nd minute when an apparent goal by Wojciech Wojcik was waved off by an offside call, but Oklahoma City came right back to seal the victory with a goal two minutes later. Pitter delivered a feed from the right wing to the far side of the penalty area, where Danni Konig leapt up for a header from five yards out that beat Mangels just inside the left post.

"We got away with that (offside call), then two minutes later, (they score)," Irving said. "Usual story. Same as in Colorado (a 1-0 loss on Aug. 11), we give up a penalty, we save it, and two minutes later, we give a goal away."

Fans at Saturday's match received free Roughnecks soccer balls from Vatterott College, News on 6 and the Buzz Networks.

The Roughnecks applied considerable pressure over the final 15 minutes or so, searching for a way back into the contest, but they were unable to generate a legitimate scoring chance the rest of the way.

Irving acknowledged he felt bad for disappointing the fans, many of whom were kids that received free soccer balls upon entering the stadium. With the next four matches on the road, TRFC won't play again at ONEOK Field until Sept. 21 against the Swope Park Rangers.

"It's a great night to see all these kids out here with the balls, all the players are out here. We've got to keep their chins up and keep going," Irving said. "We have two (home) games left, and we're on the road for a month now. No excuses. I'm to blame, the results have gone where they've gone, I'm a big boy and I understand that. Our fans are great, we've got a great club. It's very disappointing."

Check out the FC Tulsa Statistics




Images from this story

Roughnecks Fall in Black Gold Derby
Roughnecks Fall in Black Gold Derby
(Lori Scholl)		   

• Discuss this story on the United Soccer League Championship message board...

United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 21, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central