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USL FC Tulsa

San Diego Loyal SC Wins, 2-1, Over FC Tulsa

April 8, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
FC Tulsa News Release


SAN DIEGO, Calif. - A thrilling 90+ minutes on Saturday night offered soccer fans end-to-end action, back-and-forth momentum, and Tulsa soccer history. Unfortunately and unjustly for FC Tulsa, the match will likely be remembered for a match-winning own goal in the 90+4' minute that gifted San Diego Loyal SC the go-ahead score and ultimately all 3 points.

The home side for California came out on the front foot with heavy pressure and a rapid pace. San Diego forced a critical save from Michael Nelson just four minutes into the contest in Nelson's return to play after sustaining an injury on March 28.

FC Tulsa found its footing around the 15' minute mark and began to construct promising attacks through usual suspects Rodrigo da Costa, Moses Dyer, and Marcus Epps. All three earned decent enough scoring looks as Tulsa began to retain more possession, press higher up the pitch, and play Blair Gavin's style of soccer.

All hearts dropped back in Tulsa when a penalty kick was whistled against the club in white in the 27' minute. Charlie Adams hovered over the ball from the spot and stared down Nelson, the only thing between him and a 1-0 lead for San Diego. Instead of smashing his shot into the corner, Adams went for the flashy finish and floated his attempt right into the crossbar. FC Tulsa reacted quickly and cleared the danger, keeping things level at nil-nil.

Keen observers were eyeing the 58' minute from the onset of the match, knowing the history the moment represented. When the clock finally read 58:00, Rodrigo da Costa became the first player in franchise history to play 10,000 minutes in an FC Tulsa kit across his USL Championship regular season and postseason career.

The celebration would be briefly paused as San Diego's Evan Conway opened the scoring in the 63' minute, but who better than da Costa to immediately equalize only two minutes later?

Milo Yosef delivered a great cross from the left side that FC Tulsa's all-time scoring leader brought down and buried, leveling things once again at 1-1 in the 65' minute. The goal was the 36th of da Costa's standout career, the best mark in Tulsa history by a nine-goal margin.

In addition, the goal marked the second time this season in which this resilient FC Tulsa squad needed two minutes or less to respond after conceding the first goal in a match.

In the final two minutes of the allotted 90 minutes and into stoppage time, FC Tulsa unleashed a barrage of shots and looked as if it was destined to steal all three points on the road. However, disaster struck in the 90+4' minute when a Tulsa own goal granted San Diego a 2-1 victory in the final minute of the match.

Soccer, and sports in general, can prove extremely cruel at times, and Saturday was the perfect example of this. However, FC Tulsa has the chance to rectify tonight's unlucky conclusion in front of the home fans next Saturday night as it continues to develop the style of soccer it wants to play under Blair Gavin just six matches into the season.

Attached are Final Stats and Postmatch Quotes from head coach Blair Gavin, midfielder Rodrigo da Costa, and goalkeeper Michael Nelson.

HIGHLIGHTS

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K5O38GlH41MtQ0sOmasam2uBWfoy5ru3?usp=share_link

GOALS

63' SD - Evan Conway (assist: Charlie Adams)

65' TUL - Rodrigo da Costa (assist: Milo Yosef)

90+4' SD - Collin Fernandez (own goal)

UP NEXT

FC Tulsa is back at ONEOK Field next Saturday, April 15 when the Charleston Battery come to town. The club will be hosting Aviation Night to pay homage to Tulsa's long-standing history as one of the central hubs of United States aerospace. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a limited-edition FC Tulsa Aviation Night T-shirt.

Check out the FC Tulsa Statistics

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 8, 2023


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