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USL FC Tulsa

Preview: FC Tulsa at Memphis 901 FC, Wednesday, ONEOK Field, 7 p.m. CT

August 24, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


TULSA - FC Tulsa seems to be hitting all the right notes as the club from the music city in Tennessee (no, not THAT music city from Tennessee) swings into ONEOK Field on Wednesday night.

In the previous meeting between FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC, Memphis came out on top thanks to a Kyle Murphy goal in the 45+4' which proved to be enough to seal the deal. This time, FC Tulsa has its sights set on Memphis singing the blues on the bus ride home.

Perhaps the two biggest wins for FC Tulsa this season came against Birmingham Legion FC, one of them coming last Sunday on the road. In a must-win match to keep pace with the rest of the division, Jason Johnson and Darío Suárez came through in a big way, each scoring goals to forge ahead of Legion FC in a 2-1 finish.

FC Tulsa will have to carry that momentum forward as Memphis enters the match on Wednesday night losing only one time in its last eight matches. However, the club has earned four draws during that stretch, limiting its accrued point total to only 13. Sitting at 21 points in total, Memphis 901 FC finds itself in seventh place in the Central Division.

Although currently in seventh, Memphis has two matches in hand over Tulsa and at least three in hand over anyone else in the division. FC Tulsa enters the contest in fourth place, tied with Atlanta United 2, but has a match in hand over Atlanta.

Kickoff from ONEOK Field is slated for 7:00 p.m. CT.

Attached are FC Tulsa Match Notes and Prematch Quotes from head coach Michael Nsien and forward Joaquín Rivas.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS 901 FC

Memphis is a club that got off to a bit of a slow start before finding its form late. It won only one match in its first five outings but figured things out around the midpoint of the season, promptly beginning its stretch in which it lost just once in its last eight matches. Excluding its 4-1 loss at OKC Energy, each of Memphis' last eight matches have resulted in a draw or one-goal victory.

Kyle Murphy is the Memphis leader in goals, banging in 10 on the season which is tied-fifth in USL Championship. Murphy is in a scorching run of form, scoring in five straight and in eight of the club's last nine matches. Kadeem Dacres leads Memphis with three assists while keeper Kyle Morton has 24 saves, posting and an 80% save pct. to go along with two clean sheets in five starts.

MEMPHIS SINGIN'

At the moment, Memphis 901 FC is on a hot streak. The club got off to a bit of a slow start, winning just one of its first five matches. However, since the calendar flipped over to July, Memphis has lost just one match in its last eight. Memphis came away with four draws in those eight matches, resulting in the club only taking away 13 points and keeping Memphis in 7th in the Central Division.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS Memphis 901 FC and head coach Ben Pirmann have proven that they can make halftime adjustments this season and tend to come out of the halfway break strong. Memphis has scored eight of its 17 goals this season between the 45' and 60', 47% of its total goal tally. FC Tulsa has only conceded twice in that time frame all season, foreshadowing that play from both teams at the start of the second half may dictate the end result.

SAVING ON GAS MONEY

At this point in the season, FC Tulsa has spent a lot more time on the road than at home. The club has played 18 total matches, 11 of which have been away from ONEOK Field. However, a home-heavy back of the schedule is about to finally start paying dividends. Seven of Tulsa's next nine matches will be at ONEOK Field starting when Memphis 901 FC comes into town. FC Tulsa is 4-3-0 at home this season in seven matches while finding itself 4-6-1 when playing as the visitors.

OFFENSE FINDS CONFIDENCE

On Sunday afternoon, FC Tulsa's two goals lifted it over second-place Birmingham Legion FC in a monumental win on the road. Tulsa became the first club this season to score multiple goals in a match as the visitors in Birmingham and come away with a win. Jason Johnson was able to find the back of the net for the first time in an FC Tulsa shirt, the 28th of his USL Championship career. For Darío Suárez, he scored his first goal in his last 11 matches, breaking the longest scoring drought of his two-year USL Championship career after scoring eight times in 15 matches last season.

CONVERSION RECURSION

Despite being toward the bottom of total shots registered for most of the season, FC Tulsa has been top-four in conversion rate since the start of the 2021 campaign. FC Tulsa has continued to make the most of its opportunities, currently tied for second in the USL Championship in that category with a 19% conversion rate. On the other hand, Memphis 901 FC finds itself near the bottom of both total shots and conversion rate, currently tied for 28th place with a 12% conversion rate, only ahead of Loudoun United FC.

LEWIS BACK TO OLD SELF

FC Tulsa keeper Sean Lewis got off to a very slow start to the 2021 season, posting an atypical 48.6% save pct over his first eight matches. Lewis would be taken out of the Starting XI for the following six matches before being reinstated as the club's main man in goal. Since reappearing in the lineup, Lewis appears to be back in his 2020 form, recording a 72.7% save pct. over four matches. Lewis was also named Sunday's Man of the Match after coming up with seven saves.

HOW TO TUNE IN

TV: MY41

Radio: Que Buena Tulsa

Stream: ESPN+ (US), YouTube (International)

Follow: You can follow FC Tulsa @FCTulsa on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Check out the FC Tulsa Statistics



United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 24, 2021


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