TULSA, OK– The Tulsa Roughnecks were back at home this weekend when they played host to Rio Grande Valley FC. The starting eleven introduced the Roughnecks newest goalkeeper, Mason Stajduhar, who was acquired on a loan from Orlando City SC of the MLS making his professional debut. After a rather slow start to the game, the Roughnecks found the back of the net in 19th minute from a penalty kick taken by Rodrigo Da Costa. Shortly before the half-time whistle blew, Fabian Bastidas scored a beauty of a goal that is arguably a SportsCenter Top 10 Play. The first half would finish with the Roughnecks in the lead 2-0. The second half seemed to be in favor of Rio Grande Valley FC when Nico Lemoine was able to put the Toro’s on the board in the 72nd minute.
“We’ll take the three points. The guys really dug in late in the half. RGV put out a good team today, they were very competitive and changed their lineup quite a bit from their past three games. It was a bit of a process,” said Michael Nsien (Head Coach), “They were a little stronger physically, so they went for strength instead of build-up play. So, we had to make an adjustment, but they were a good team.”
The Tulsa Roughnecks will be back in action next Saturday, April 6th when they travel to Southern California to take on the LA Galaxy 2.
LINEUPS:
Tulsa Roughnecks — Mason Stajduhar, Luca Lobo, Cyprian Hedrick, Mallan Roberts, Anthony Legendre (Brayan Reyes – 69’), Akeil Barrett (Fredlin Mompremier – 63’), Jeff Addai, Cristhian Altamirano, Fabian Bastidas (Manny Gonzalez – 77’), Rodrigo Da Costa, Janu Silva.
Substitutes not used — Andrew MacRae, Renan Ferreira, AJ Ajeakwa, Toby Uzo.
Rio Grande Valley FC Toro’s — Michael Nelson, Kyle Adams, Erik McCue (Wilmar Cabrera – 88’), Andrew Samuels, Robert Coronado, Juan David Cabezas (Nico Lemoine – 45’), Romilio Hernandez, Isidro Martinez, Jesus Enriquez, Camilo Monroy, Carlos Small (Michael Salazar – 63’).
Substitutes not used — Nico Corti, Zach Jackson, Conor Donovan, Hector Copete.
SCORING SUMMARY:
TRFC: Rodrigo Da Costa – 19’, Fabian Bastidas – 45+1’.
RGV: Nico Lemoine – 72’.
Weather: Cloudy, 67 degrees
Attendance: 2,430
