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USL FC Tulsa

Roughnecks Face Monarchs Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium

August 7, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


Tulsa Roughnecks FC cap their two-game road trip to the Rocky Mountains Saturday night with its first-ever meeting with the Real Monarchs SLC. The match will be played at Rio Tinto Stadium, home of MLS side Real Salt Lake. The Monarchs are the USL affiliate of RSL. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm Tulsa time.

The match will give the Roughnecks another chance to climb up the Western Conference standings of USL. On Wednesday, Tulsa opened its two-game trip with a 1-0 victory in Colorado Springs and moved into the sixth and final playoff spot in the West. It was only the second home loss of the season for the Switchbacks and the first time they had been shut out at home.

Roughnecks FC enter the match with only one loss in its last seven matches. The Roughnecks are currently 9-9-4 with 31 points this season. The Monarchs will enter the contest with a 2-11-6 mark and with 12 points on the season, placing them in 12th spot in the Western Conference.

The match will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides.

It will be broadcast live on Tulsa's Sports Radio AM 1300 with Jeremie Poplin calling the action. The broadcast can be heard online at 1300TheBuzz.com. It will also be shown live on the Real Monarchs YouTube Channel.

The official Watch Party, in conjunction with the Roustabouts, will be held at Lefty's, located on the corner of Greenwood and Archer avenues, across the street from ONEOK Field. Modelos will be on sale for only $2.50 each and Roughneck 83s will be only $4 each. The Watch party is open to fans of all ages. Lefty's will also be offering a full selection from its food menu.

RECENT FORM

The Roughnecks will enter the match on their best run of the season. Since losing to Los Angeles Galaxy 2 on June 28, Tulsa has gone is 5-1-1 in its last seven matches. The Roughnecks have gone 2-0-1 in away matches during the streak. The club's last road defeat came on June 13 in a 2-0 loss at Oklahoma City.

Real Monarchs have suffered consecutive losses to the Orange County Blues in the past two weeks. Monarchs picked up four points in its two matches prior to that, beating Austin and tying Sacramento. One of their two wins this year came against Sacramento, the 2014 USL Champions, in a 1-0 shutout at Rio Tinto back on April 29.

Tulsa & Real Monarchs SLC in their Last 5

Tulsa Last 5 Games: W - W - L - W - D

Real Monarchs Last 5 Games: L - L - W - D - L

GOOD AT HOME

Real Monarchs SLC are in 12th place in the Western Conference standings, but don't expect an easy match for the Roughnecks. The Monarchs have lost only two of their nine home matches this season. In contrast, they have picked up only two points from ten road matches.

ROAD WARRIORS

In contrast to Real Monarchs' home record, the Roughnecks have enjoyed success on the road this season. Tulsa is now 5-3-3 away from ONEOK Field, collecting 18 of its 31 points.

THAT IS OFFENSIVE

The Roughnecks currently lead all USL teams with 295 total shots this year. They are tied with Louisville City for third-most goals with 39, trailing only Pittsburgh (42) and Colorado Springs (39).

OCHOA SCORING

Former Seattle Sounders striker Sammy Ochoa is in his best form of the season for the Roughnecks. He has scored in each of the last two matches, including a brace in Tulsa's 6-3 win over Arizona on August 2. Ochoa had the lone goal, a strike in the 47th minute, in Tulsa's 1-0 win in Colorado Springs on Wednesday.

He now leads the Roughnecks with six goals this season with four of the goals coming in the last four matches.

BOND WATCH

Tulsa midfielder Chad Bond picked up his seventh yellow card of the season in Wednesday's match. If he receives another yellow this season, he will be forced to miss two matches via suspension.

RAUHOFER SUSPENDED

Real Monarchs will be affected by suspension for the match. Forward Max Rauhofer will serve the first game of the five-game suspension he received for his actions during last week's match with Orange County. Rauhofer has appeared in 13 matches this season and leads the Monarchs with seven goals.

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