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FC Tulsa

Preview: FC Tulsa vs. Hartford Athletic - Saturday, July 15 - ONEOK Field, 8 p.m. CT

July 14, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


TULSA - FC Tulsa is riding its longest win streak of the season heading into Saturday night's clash with Hartford Athletic at ONEOK Field. The offense is humming, the defense has been frugal, and three consecutive wins have catapulted Tulsa up four spots in the standings.

The longest run of consecutive victories strung together by FC Tulsa sits at five, a feat the club accomplished between August 22 and September 9, 2021. Since that stretch, Tulsa's active winning streak is the longest it has compiled.

The key to its scorching run of form? Patience and faith.

"What I've seen from a team camaraderie and a team belief standpoint is fantastic," Blair Gavin told Tulsa media after last weekend's 1-0 win over Miami FC. "I'm very proud of these guys that, through difficult moments through adversity, they stuck together and now they are reaping the rewards for it."

"The start was not easy - we have a new team, new players, new coaches, new everything," added Ruxi. "We struggled, but we stayed together. Now, we are being rewarded with these three wins in a row."

Ruxi has been a standout for FC Tulsa over its winning streak making 20 clearances, winning six of his seven tackle attempts, and picking up a Team of the Week bench honor to boot.

Ruxi, alongside Rashid Tetteh, Justin Malou, and goalkeeper Michael Nelson have the opportunity to do something on Saturday that FC Tulsa has never done before in its nine-year USL Championship history - keep three consecutive clean sheets.

Another clean sheet would cap an already momentous evening for Rashid Tetteh who will be making his 100th career USL Championship regular season appearance, should the Ghanaian center-back hit the pitch for Tulsa.

To extend its win streak, FC Tulsa needs to pick up three points over the last-place club in the Eastern Conference who has surrendered the most goals in the USL Championship, Hartford Athletic, three weeks after relieving former head coach Tab Ramos from his duties.

Kickoff from ONEOK Field is set for 8 p.m.

SCOUTING HARTFORD ATHLETIC

Hartford Athletic finds itself rounding out the bottom of the Eastern Conference heading into Saturday. After 18 matches this season, the visitors sit in 12th place, having endured a difficult run of form as of late - the side has lost its last five matches and remain winless over its last eight. Hartford's away record stands at 1W-5L-2D. Notably, the team's current losing streak matches its longest such streak in club history which occurred from April 3 to May 1, 2022.

Individually, Kyle Edwards has been the club's leading goal scorer, finding the back of the net six times in 16 appearances. Elvis Amoh has been active in terms of shots taken, accumulating 27 shots in just 13 matches while Edgardo Rito has been a key creative force, generating 25 scoring chances. Defensively, Hartford Athletic has conceded a significant number of goals, allowing 38 scores to this point, the most in the USL Championship.

STAT OF THE MATCH

Michael Nelson has logged -4.27 G-xG this season, a statistic derived from subtracting the number of goals conceded from the total number of goals he was expected to concede this season based on the shots he faced. This number is the best in the USL Championship by far with the second-place keeper sitting at -3.64, according to American Soccer Analysis.

TASTE OF TULSA NIGHT

Saturday will be Taste of Tulsa Night at ONEOK Field where the first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive an FC Tulsa hot dog t-shirt made by Printed Theory, several food trucks will be at the stadium for fans to sample different cuisines, and a hot dog eating contest will take place at halftime.

HOW TO WATCH

For fans that can't make it out to ONEOK for the match, the action will be broadcasted live on My41 locally and streamed nationally on ESPN+.

STAY UPDATED

For highlights, polls, updates and more throughout matchday, be sure to follow @FCTulsa on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Check out the FC Tulsa Statistics

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