TULSA – On Saturday night FC Tulsa showed its grit, nearly fighting back from a three-goal deficit before eventually falling 3-2 to Louisville City FC. Louisville City punched early, scoring all three of its goals in the first 10 minutes, before FC Tulsa got one in the first half and another early in the second. Ultimately, the comeback stalled and FC Tulsa was handed its first home defeat in its last eight matches.
LouCity got going early as forward Cameron Lancaster scored an Olimpico (a goal directly from a corner kick) in the 2' minute, right back Jonathan Gomez added a second in the 7' and Lancaster got his second from a penalty in the 10'. Just like that, FC Tulsa was facing its first multi-goal deficit of the new era of the franchise.
FC Tulsa struck back in the 22' minute off the boot of midfielder Rodrigo da Costa. The Brazilian found the net in his fourth consecutive home match. He took a pass from Darío Suárez and left the Louisville defense in the dust, scoring his third of the season.
Then, Tulsa midfielder Marlon Santos made things more interesting with a great solo effort of his own in the 55' minutes, narrowing the deficit to one. Tulsa's best chance to tie came just two minutes later when Joaquín Rivas found himself in alone on LouCity keeper Chris Hubbard, but the goalie made a big time stop of the Salvadoran international to maintain the lead.
Louisville saw the win out in the final 35 minutes as FC Tulsa fell back to .500 at 4-0-4. The match marks the quarter-pole of the season as eight of the 32 matches have now been played.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1) Defensive Struggles Continue
After a stellar defensive season in 2020, FC Tulsa has regressed dramatically over the last five matches. Allowing a total of 15 goals in 15 regular season matches last year, Tulsa has allowed 17 in its last five matches, with at least three in four of the five. FC Tulsa's 18 total goals allowed are the third most in the USL Championship this season.
2) Da Costa Loves Being Home
Rodrigo da Costa owns ONEOK Field. With goals in each of his last four home matches dating back to the 2020 home finale, da Costa has looked very comfortable on home soil. Da Costa now has 16 career goals for FC Tulsa over the last three seasons with 18 total assists. Those totals rank third and first in club history, respectively.
3) Home Streaks End
FC Tulsa's home winning and unbeaten streaks both came to an end on Saturday night in the loss to Louisville City FC. The unbeaten streak stood at seven matches while the winning streak was stopped at five. Both were the longest such streaks in franchise history.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will head back on the road for a Friday night matchup against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. The teams met twice last season with FC Tulsa winning both matches by identical 2-1 scorelines. It will be the first "out of division" match for Tulsa as the Toros play in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference.
TULSA – On Saturday night FC Tulsa showed its grit, nearly fighting back from a three-goal deficit before eventually falling 3-2 to Louisville City FC. Louisville City punched early, scoring all three of its goals in the first 10 minutes, before FC Tulsa got one in the first half and another early in the second. Ultimately, the comeback stalled and FC Tulsa was handed its first home defeat in its last eight matches.
LouCity got going early as forward Cameron Lancaster scored an Olimpico (a goal directly from a corner kick) in the 2′ minute, right back Jonathan Gomez added a second in the 7′ and Lancaster got his second from a penalty in the 10′. Just like that, FC Tulsa was facing its first multi-goal deficit of the new era of the franchise.
FC Tulsa struck back in the 22′ minute off the boot of midfielder Rodrigo da Costa. The Brazilian found the net in his fourth consecutive home match. He took a pass from Darío Suárez and left the Louisville defense in the dust, scoring his third of the season.
Then, Tulsa midfielder Marlon Santos made things more interesting with a great solo effort of his own in the 55′ minutes, narrowing the deficit to one. Tulsa’s best chance to tie came just two minutes later when Joaquín Rivas found himself in alone on LouCity keeper Chris Hubbard, but the goalie made a big time stop of the Salvadoran international to maintain the lead.
Louisville saw the win out in the final 35 minutes as FC Tulsa fell back to .500 at 4-0-4. The match marks the quarter-pole of the season as eight of the 32 matches have now been played.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
1) Defensive Struggles Continue
After a stellar defensive season in 2020, FC Tulsa has regressed dramatically over the last five matches. Allowing a total of 15 goals in 15 regular season matches last year, Tulsa has allowed 17 in its last five matches, with at least three in four of the five. FC Tulsa’s 18 total goals allowed are the third most in the USL Championship this season.
2) Da Costa Loves Being Home
Rodrigo da Costa owns ONEOK Field. With goals in each of his last four home matches dating back to the 2020 home finale, da Costa has looked very comfortable on home soil. Da Costa now has 16 career goals for FC Tulsa over the last three seasons with 18 total assists. Those totals rank third and first in club history, respectively.
3) Home Streaks End
FC Tulsa’s home winning and unbeaten streaks both came to an end on Saturday night in the loss to Louisville City FC. The unbeaten streak stood at seven matches while the winning streak was stopped at five. Both were the longest such streaks in franchise history.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa will head back on the road for a Friday night matchup against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. The teams met twice last season with FC Tulsa winning both matches by identical 2-1 scorelines. It will be the first “out of division” match for Tulsa as the Toros play in the Mountain Division of the Western Conference.
