FC Tulsa Look to Continue Dominance over Las Vegas Lights FC
USL FC Tulsa

FC Tulsa Look to Continue Dominance over Las Vegas Lights FC

Published on March 20, 2026 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


TULSA, Okla. - FC Tulsa continue their early season homestand and look for their second win of the week as they take on Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday, March 21 at 7 p.m. at ONEOK Field presented by Tulsa Welding School. To get your tickets for this weekend's match and more, head to fctulsa.com/tickets/.

The club is excited to celebrate Gals and Goals Night with promotional highlights including limited edition "In My Soccer Era" shirts for the first 1,000 fans through the gate, a friendship bracelet-making station on the concourse and special honorees at halftime. There will also be stations set up for a sports bra donation drive sponsored by Cleats for Kids, an organization dedicated to empowering kids to live healthier lifestyles and learn life lessons through sports by providing sports equipment to kids in need.

FC TULSA VS LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC:

SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 2026 @ 7:00 P.M. - ONEOK FIELD - TULSA, OKLAHOMA

Watch: ESPN+, News on 6 Now

In-game updates: @FCTulsa X/Twitter feed

LAST TIME OUT

FC Tulsa 4, Little Rock Rangers SC 2

Mourot Stadium - Wednesday, March 18, 2026 | Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup First Round

The Scissortails controlled the attack early on and finally found the back of the net once defender Harvey St. Clair volleyed home a cross from forward Bruno Lapa in the 19th minute. The lead then was doubled by an absolute rocket from close to 30 yards out by forward Jamie Webber whose strike should contend for the goal of the opening round.

The hosts came out firing to start the second 45 minutes and cut their deficit in half just six minutes in. Goalkeeper Dane Jacomen came up with some key saves to keep the Scissortails in front, however, before defender Lamar Batista headed in a free kick by Webber reasserted the two-goal advantage. A late goal from Little Rock in the 85th minute was responded to less than a minute later by newcomer forward Nelson Pierre to seal the deal for the Black and Gold.

Lapa and Pierre each recorded their first goal contributions for FC Tulsa while Jacomen and Alonzo Clarke made their Scissortail debuts. St. Clair, Webber and Batista all got on the scoresheet for the first time in 2026 as well.

KEY STORYLINES

FC Tulsa created numerous attacking threats but were unable to find paydirt in a 0-0 draw against San Antonio FC on Saturday night at ONEOK Field in their 2026 home opener. The Black and Gold controlled possession and limited the visitor's touches in the final third but failed to hit the back of the net themselves.

FC Tulsa look to carry their momentum from Wednesday's Open Cup victory into league play as they found their finishing boots after failing to score in their opening 180 minutes. Last year's champions of the west led the conference in goals scored and will look to showcase that form against a Las Vegas who scored the least goals in the Championship in 2025 (23).

Scissortail fans could expect to see some rotation in Saturday's starting XI after a midweek clash which featured multiple starters playing their second full 90 minutes in five days. With heavy match congestion early on, this should provide some reserve players with expanded opportunities to prove themselves as the season goes into full swing.

"That's something we spoke about early on in preseason," Head Coach Luke Spencer said on the matter. "Everybody's going to be needed. Everybody needs to be prepared to take their opportunity when it comes. For us, we'll review this past game, see how everybody's feeling and see if we need to rotate the squad or if we can keep some consistency."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Goalkeeper Alex Tambakis: The all-time saves leader in USL Championship currently finds himself in another record race. Tambakis entered the season in a three-way tie for the league shutout record with current Sacramento veteran Danny Vitiello and Evan Newton at 58. He currently sits in second after his 59th career clean sheet last Saturday and will hope to reclaim the top spot in a fun storyline as the season progresses.

Defender Owen Damm: After coming on as a substitute in the season opener at Sacramento, Damm put in an effective shift on the left-hand side for Tulsa in their home opener last Saturday against San Antonio. The 22-year-old was everywhere on the pitch with a team-high 57 touches while winning five fouls and eight duels.

Forward Nelson Pierre: On loan from Vancouver Whitecaps FC in MLS, Pierre enjoyed a breakout season with their reserve side in MLS Next Pro tallying 13 goals in 22 appearances. The 20-year-old scored his debut goal for the Scissortails on Wednesday and will be called on this season for his goal-scoring prowess and ability to recover quickly defensively.

OPPONENT INFO: LAS VEGAS LIGHTS FC

This is the 10th all-time meeting between Tulsa and Las Vegas with the Scissortails currently undefeated against their Nevada counterparts. These two sides played a classic their last time out in July 2025 at ONEOK Field with a late own goal in stoppage time giving Tulsa the 4-3 win and sole possession of first place in the Western Conference which they would not relinquish.

The Lights are looking to bounce back after a rough 2025 campaign which saw them finish 12th in the Western Conference with a league-low 23 goals scored. Devin Rensing enters his first full season at the helm for the Lights after being named head coach back in August 2025. So far in 2026, Abraham Okyere logged a brace against Colorado Springs last weekend while Johnny Rodriguez and Nighte Pickering also look to factor into the Lights' attack.

KEY STATISTICS

- FC Tulsa's back line has allowed just 0.9 expected goals in their first two league matches.

- The four goals scored on Wednesday were the most by the Scissortails in an Open Cup match since May 17, 2017 against OKC Energy FC's U-23s.

- Remi Cabral could potentially make his 100th USL Championship regular season appearance on Saturday.

- FC Tulsa have a +6 all-time goal differential against Las Vegas Lights FC, their second best mark against any opponent behind Tacoma Defiance.

RECENT QUOTES

Head coach Luke Spencer on team performance against San Antonio: "I think overall, it was a good performance from an effort and intensity standpoint. I thought we created enough chances, certainly enough set -piece opportunities. I just think we need to be cleaner in the final action finish. If I look at the growth from the game at Sacramento to this game, I'm very pleased with the growth that we saw."

Alex Tambakis on defensive intensity: "Last year playing with New Mexico, I saw that this club is really good defensively. Everybody defends really well here and does it together from the striker to the keeper. That's something that FC Tulsa is known for defensively - keeping clean sheets. We were just a little unlucky up top."

Owen Damm on prevalence of long throws in Tulsa attack: "I think [long throws] were a big part of our identity last year. For us, it is a set piece, and set pieces win games. The center of our identity is set pieces, and we had probably 20 of them on Saturday. To not get a goal is disappointing, but on the bright side, we are getting those set piece opportunities, and we didn't concede, so there's something to take away from this game."

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from March 20, 2026


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