June 16, 2021 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – FC Tulsa News Release
TULSA – Back on Tulsa time.
Forty-six days away from ONEOK Field made Wednesday night’s 4-3 victory over Sporting KC II that much more sweet for FC Tulsa. After more than six weeks on the road, FC Tulsa heard the roar of the home fans four times in the victory, which was just enough to hang on to the three points.
The stars shined bright as Rodrigo da Costa, Marlon Santos, Darío Suárez and Joaquín Rivas all found the back of the net in the first four-goal offensive output in the FC Tulsa era.
Looking like a mirror of the matchup two weeks ago between the sides, Kansas City struck early in the first half before FC Tulsa found the net just before halftime. Da Costa score the first in the 42′ and almost a second during first half stoppage, but fellow Brazilian Marlon Santos cleaned up the deflection off the SKC II keeper to tap in the go-ahead tally.
The floodgates opened in the second half when Suárez earned and then finished a penalty before Rivas sliced through the Sporting KC II backline to make it 4-1. A rout turned into a squeaker in the final five minutes as late substitute Tyler Freeman scored twice to make it 4-3 before the final whistle.
The three points push FC Tulsa to third place in the Central Division, one point behind Saturday’s opponent Louisville City FC.
Finals Stats and Postmatch Quotes from head coach Michael Nsien, midfielder Rodrigo da Costa and forward Joaquín Rivas.
GOALS
6′ | SKC – Rojay Smith (Jacob Davis)
42′ | TUL – Rodrigo da Costa (Lucas Coutinho)
45′ | TUL – Marlon Santos
62′ | TUL – Darío Suárez (penalty)
72′ | TUL – Joaquín Rivas (Rodrigo da Costa)
87′ | SKC – Tyler Freeman (Rojay Smith)
90′ | SKC – Tyler Freeman
DA COSTA THE DIFFERENCE
It was nearly a first half brace for Rodrigo da Costa as the Brazilian midfielder bagged the equalizer before doing the heavy lifting on the second tally. It was da Costa’s second goal of the season. He won’t get on the scoresheet for the second, but a nearly identical shot to his goal made it an easy tap-in for Santos. Ultimately, the Brazilian bagged his assist on Tulsa’s final goal of the night after a fancy 1-2 with Joaquín Rivas, giving him three helpers in 2021.
CORRALES AND RIVAS BACK
After two matches with Cuba while missing a pair of FC Tulsa contests, defender Jorge Corrales was back in the Starting XI for Tulsa, going a full 90 minutes on the left side of the defense. Joaquin Rivas and El Salvador played an extra two matches in the international break, advancing to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, arriving back in Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. Rivas started on the bench, but was the first substitute into the match for FC Tulsa in the 54′ minute.
RIVAS ENDS LONG DAY ON HIGH NOTE
Last night, Joaquín Rivas watched from the bench as El Salvador clinched a spot in the final round of World Cup qualifying. Less than 24 hours and two intercontinental flights later, Rivas played nearly 40 minutes and secured the match-winning goal off the bench. The goal was Rivas’ fifth of the season and 22 of his Tulsa career.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
Ah, beautiful ONEOK Field. FC Tulsa’s home sweet home continues to be a sanctuary as the win extended FC Tulsa’s franchise-best home unbeaten streak to seven matches and home win streak to five matches. The only time FC Tulsa has lost at home in the new era of the franchise was a 2-1 defeat to Sporting KC II on August 29, 2021.
SUÁREZ CONVERTS
Darío Suárez won and then converted a penalty kick in the 62′ minute to make it a 3-1 game. It was the fourth of the season for Suárez and the 12th for Tulsa since the start of 2020. It was the first penalty taken and converted for the Cuban dynamo in his USL Championship career.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will be right back at ONEOK Field on Saturday night against the two-time league champions, Louisville City FC at 7 p.m. It’ll be the first meeting between the sides since FC Tulsa’s inaugural USL Championship season in 2015. Louisville City FC has advanced to every Eastern Conference Final since 2015, won the USL Championship Final in 2017 and 2018 and was the runner-up in 2019.
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