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USL FC Tulsa

FC Tulsa Earns Point at San Antonio FC

October 17, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Following a hard-fought 90 minutes in hostile territory, FC Tulsa earned a crucial point against a great San Antonio FC club as it continues its quest for the third spot in the Central Division.

It was FC Tulsa who got off to a quick start and on the scoreboard first, courtesy of a world-class strike delivered off the left boot of Rodrigo da Costa from distance in the 27', good for his 10th of the season. The Brazilian has now scored in back-to-back matches since moving further up the pitch after playing a more defensive role for the club dating back to July.

The Tulsa defense came out as stout as the offense did, holding San Antonio FC scoreless in the first half and limited the League-leaders in shots to just one attempt on target in the first half. It was the first time in San Antonio's last three matches it was held scoreless before the break.

San Antonio FC was able to find the equalizer in the 56' on a shot (or possibly a cross) that managed to sneak past Austin Wormell at his back post from a seemingly impossible angle. FC Tulsa was not discouraged following the San Antonio breakthrough, however, standing strong and seeing out a result in a very difficult place to leave with anything at all. In total, the FC Tulsa defense limited the offensive powerhouse to just 2 shots on goal despite San Antonio finishing with 19 attempts in total.

As expected, it was a very physical match from start to finish with heavy tackles everywhere you looked. 35 fouls were committed between the two clubs and three total yellow cards were on display from the referee, although there was contention that a darker color was warranted on more than one occasion.

FC Tulsa will surely be content walking away with a point from this contest against a great team on the road as it looks to close out its regular season schedule against four clubs from the Central Division over the next two weeks. ONEOK Field will be the site of FC Tulsa's next match as Atlanta United 2 comes into town on Wednesday, October 20.

Kickoff on Wednesday night is set for 7 p.m. CT.

GOALS

27' TUL - Rodrigo da Costa

56' SA - Jose Gallegos (Marcus Epps)

DOUBLE DIGITS FOR DA COSTA

In the 27' minute of the match, Rodrigo da Costa became the first member of FC Tulsa to reach 10 goals in 2021. After previously going 12 matches without scoring, the midfielder has scored in back-to-back matches for the fifth time this season. The goal was the 23rd of his career to match his 19 career assists. Da Costa is looking to become the first player in FC Tulsa history to score 20 goals and log 20 assists for the club.

UP AT HALFTIME

After earning an all-important point against an out-of-division opponent, FC Tulsa has continued its unbeaten streak when leading at halftime. With a record of 9W-0L-3D when up at the break, FC Tulsa has proven time and time again that it is more than capable of sitting back and defending effectively after putting points on the board early. This is a trend that the club will look to continue moving forward as every match becomes more and more important in the standings.

PLAYOFF UPDATE

FC Tulsa reduced its Magic Number needed to officially clinch a Playoffs spot to just 6 following tonight's draw. However, if OKC Energy drops points tomorrow night at home vs first-place Birmingham Legion FC at home, that number could drop all the way down to 3 by the end of the weekend. With a Memphis 901 FC win this evening over Atlanta United 2, Memphis stays ahead of FC Tulsa in the standings for the time being. FC Tulsa will travel to AutoZone park to take on Memphis on October 27 in what will prove to be perhaps the most important match of the year for FC Tulsa as it tries to secure the three seed in the Central.

CENTRAL DIVISION STANDINGS UPDATE

Team Matches Played Record (W-L-D) Points

Birmingham Legion FC 29 17-7-5 56

Louisville City FC. 30 16-7-7 55

Memphis 901 FC 29 12-9-8 44

FC Tulsa 28 12-12-84 40

OKC Energy FC 29 8-9-12 36

Atlanta United 2 31 8-13-10 34

Indy Eleven 30 9-14-7 34

Sporting KC II 30 4-18-8 20

UP NEXT

FC Tulsa heads home to host Atlanta United 2 back at ONEOK Field on Wednesday, October 20. From here on out, all remaining matches for FC Tulsa will be Central Division matchups as the race to claim third third spot between FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC is in full swing. The contest will mark the second of five matches in the final 15 days of the regular season for FC Tulsa. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

Check out the FC Tulsa Statistics

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