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USL FC Tulsa

FC Tulsa Edges San Antonio FC, 2-1

September 3, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


TULSA - A seemingly difficult matchup with the defending league champions, San Antonio FC, awaited FC Tulsa at the University of Tulsa on Sunday night, but two sparkling goals involving Eric Bird and Marcus Epps paved the way for a critical 2-1 victory with the playoffs looming in just over a month.

The great link-up play between Bird and Epps resulted in the first goal of the affair just 14 minutes into the match. Epps led Bird on a cheeky run into the box, and Bird ripped a shot with enough force that the San Antonio keeper could not corral the attempt. The rebound leaked into the goal for a 1-0 FC Tulsa advantage.

The goal constituted Bird's third score of the campaign, marking the first season in which the captain has scored three times since 2017 as a member of Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Epps collected his fourth assist on the play, tying Moses Dyer for the club lead.

San Antonio looked to respond in the second half with two subs at the break, but FC Tulsa elected to lower its block to stifle the visitors' scoring chances.

Epps and Bird combined once again for FC Tulsa in the 68' minute, but this time it was Epps who garnered the glory. Tulsa initiated the counter to perfection with Bird slotting in the pass in from the wing, finding Epps in front of goal who lifted his shot into the upper corner for his eighth goal of the season.

With the goal, Epps now trails Phillip Goodrum's top Tulsa tally of nine by only one score.

San Antonio cut the deficit in half 12 minutes later by way of a Rida Zouhir goal, but Blair Gavin's defense remained sturdy the rest of the way to close out the 2-1 victory over the "Mentality Monsters" from San Antonio.

FC Tulsa moved back into possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with the win, good for the final playoff spot with only six matches remaining in the season.

GOALS

14' TUL - Eric Bird (assist: Marcus Epps)

68' TUL - Marcus Epps (assist: Eric Bird)

80' SA - Rida Zouhir (assist: Jorge Hernández)

LINEUPS

FC Tulsa: Nelson, Ruxi, Tetteh, Hughes, Seagrist, Worth, Bird, Yosef, Ferri, Epps, Goodrum (Subs used: Fernandez, Malou, McCabe)

San Antonio FC: Farr, Taintor, Garcia, Manley, Jome, PC, Herndánez, Boni, Gómez, Patiño, Oluwaseyi (Subs used: Hayes, Zouhir, Bailone, Azócar, Maloney)

UP NEXT

Only two home matches remain in the 2023 regular season for FC Tulsa, including next Saturday's contest vs. Phoenix Rising FC. The match will take place at ONEOK Field and kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Post-Match Quote Sheet FC Tulsa vs San Antonio FC

September 3rd, 2023 at Hurricane Soccer Stadium

BLAIR GAVIN - HEAD COACH

(On taking opportunities in the big moments of the game - defensive and attacking.)

"I thought they were very, very good. I think it's a team like San Antonio who create a lot of those opportunities are very dangerous. They have the leading goal scorer in the league, a lot of guys have an extreme amount of talent, and they're relentless in the amount of balls they put into the box. I thought our defenders were exceptional, Michael in goal made some big saves for us, and then the guys up front made some really nice plays. And then the midfield - the amount of balls that they picked up to get us possession and get us some breathing on the ball was great. I thought overall, it was a really good game from each and every person. And then the subs coming on made a huge difference as well."

(On how big this win against the top of the table is for the rest of the season.)

"I think it should give us confidence that whoever we play, we can give them a challenge for a result. That's something I'm hoping the guys take away, that when we play a team like the defending champions, we keep them busy and we can take them to the end of the game. When we execute, we can beat them. I hope that we carry that momentum into the next games - it won't be easy, we're playing a lot of really good teams, but I hope the guys know that we're a really good team. When we put it all together it's nice to see."

(On the link-up between Marcus and Eric making FC Tulsa more dangerous.)

"Yeah, Bird was exceptional, his ability to cover ground both offensively and defensively and get into dangerous spots was very impressive tonight. And Marcus has shown his qualities these last two games and he has really lifted us and given us that threat in transition. He was giving them problems all the time, backing their team out, and giving us a lot of opportunities in the midfield. I'm very happy for both of those guys."

ERIC BIRD - MIDFIELD

(On how him and Marcus linked up well - what they were able to exploit.)"It was just a good team effort all around. We knew that these guys are super intense, and they want to press us high up the field. We knew we had a little bit of quality, if we broke their first line of pressure, that we could find spaces. Marcus found a couple good spaces, Milo and Phil found some good spaces, Blaine in the first half as well. We had a couple chances, and we were able to take them. It was just a good night to be out here on the grass, in front of the fans - we love playing in front of our guys and their home. It was a fun time and complete team effort to get stuck in all the way till the end."

MARCUS EPPS - FORWARD

(On what went right tonight and how he and Eric operated as a duo.)

"We did a great job going over their style of play this week, coaches just did an excellent job breaking it down. We could see late runs, third man runs, we were open today when we got out and we broke. Eric benefitted of that with a great run and finish, and then the same thing with his run through for the assist - it's about never letting the play die and it paid off tonight."

(On if it feels different scoring against a former team, or if it's just business as usual.)

"Oh no I feel it, I still have a lot of love for San Antonio - they treated me nice. But I'm an FC Tulsa guy, I enjoy scoring, and I'm happy I could do it tonight."

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