TULSA – Following a grueling week of preseason camp and matches in Texas, FC Tulsa is back home and readying for its next preseason matchup, a closed-door Friday night showdown with USL League Two’s FC Wichita.
Here’s a primer to get you set for FC Tulsa’s next preseason tune-up.
ABOUT FC WICHITA
FC Wichita competes in USL League Two, which is the fourth division in American soccer and is run under the USL umbrella. League Two is a completely amateur division played across the country. Teams consist of primarily high school and college standouts and matches are played throughout the summer months.
FC Wichita is historically one of the more successful USL League Two franchises. Founded in 2015, Wichita is a three-time Heartland Conference regular season champion and has thrice competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, reaching the Third Round in 2018.
Like the other 80+ USL League Two teams around the country, FC Wichita was unable to compete in 2020. This week, the club announced the signing of eight Academy players to USL League Two contracts to bolster their roster heading into 2021.
3 STORYLINES TO WATCH
1) Getting Some Goals
While the scorelines in any of FC Tulsa’s preseason matches are ultimately meaningless, these tune-ups are a chance to develop all phases of the game. FC Tulsa head coach Michael Nsien has made clear that the team has not worked on the attack as much as it has the defense early in preseason. With another week of training under its belt plus a lack of travel, Friday night’s match should be a good opportunity for the FC Tulsa forwards to gain some confidence in the final third and see the ball hit the back of the net.
2) The Return of the Rivas and Corrales
Two of FC Tulsa’s biggest offseason acquisitions, Joaquín Rivas and Jorge Corrales, were unavailable to the club throughout the week in Texas as both were away due to 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying for their respective countries. Now both are back in Tulsa, ready to play with their club for a preseason match. Both Rivas and Corrales excelled in their time away, with Corrales standing out as one of Cuba’s best players despite a pair of losses, while Rivas grabbed an assist for El Salvador in a 2-0 win over Grenada.
3) Remembering the 2018 U.S. Open Cup
The last meeting between the two clubs came during the 2018 U.S. Open Cup when the then Tulsa Roughnecks FC was beaten by FC Wichita in Tulsa 4-3. It was a deserved win for FC Wichita, which went down a man and still managed to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win with the clinching goal coming in stoppage time. Rivas and assistant coach Nemanja Vukovic both played for Tulsa in that match with Rivas as a second half sub and Vukovic dishing out two assists in the defeat.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The match is “closed-door,” which means that fans will not be allowed to attend, however FC Tulsa will provide live updates and highlights from @FCTulsa on Twitter. Be sure to follow along!
TULSA – Following a grueling week of preseason camp and matches in Texas, FC Tulsa is back home and readying for its next preseason matchup, a closed-door Friday night showdown with USL League Two’s FC Wichita.
Here’s a primer to get you set for FC Tulsa’s next preseason tune-up.
ABOUT FC WICHITA
FC Wichita competes in USL League Two, which is the fourth division in American soccer and is run under the USL umbrella. League Two is a completely amateur division played across the country. Teams consist of primarily high school and college standouts and matches are played throughout the summer months.
FC Wichita is historically one of the more successful USL League Two franchises. Founded in 2015, Wichita is a three-time Heartland Conference regular season champion and has thrice competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, reaching the Third Round in 2018.
Like the other 80+ USL League Two teams around the country, FC Wichita was unable to compete in 2020. This week, the club announced the signing of eight Academy players to USL League Two contracts to bolster their roster heading into 2021.
3 STORYLINES TO WATCH
1) Getting Some Goals
While the scorelines in any of FC Tulsa’s preseason matches are ultimately meaningless, these tune-ups are a chance to develop all phases of the game. FC Tulsa head coach Michael Nsien has made clear that the team has not worked on the attack as much as it has the defense early in preseason. With another week of training under its belt plus a lack of travel, Friday night’s match should be a good opportunity for the FC Tulsa forwards to gain some confidence in the final third and see the ball hit the back of the net.
2) The Return of the Rivas and Corrales
Two of FC Tulsa’s biggest offseason acquisitions, Joaquín Rivas and Jorge Corrales, were unavailable to the club throughout the week in Texas as both were away due to 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying for their respective countries. Now both are back in Tulsa, ready to play with their club for a preseason match. Both Rivas and Corrales excelled in their time away, with Corrales standing out as one of Cuba’s best players despite a pair of losses, while Rivas grabbed an assist for El Salvador in a 2-0 win over Grenada.
3) Remembering the 2018 U.S. Open Cup
The last meeting between the two clubs came during the 2018 U.S. Open Cup when the then Tulsa Roughnecks FC was beaten by FC Wichita in Tulsa 4-3. It was a deserved win for FC Wichita, which went down a man and still managed to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win with the clinching goal coming in stoppage time. Rivas and assistant coach Nemanja Vukovic both played for Tulsa in that match with Rivas as a second half sub and Vukovic dishing out two assists in the defeat.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The match is “closed-door,” which means that fans will not be allowed to attend, however FC Tulsa will provide live updates and highlights from @FCTulsa on Twitter. Be sure to follow along!
