It’s Time for ONEOK to Roar to Life for the First Time in 2022
TULSA – It’s soccer season in Tulsa.
On Saturday night, FC Tulsa makes its return to ONEOK Field for the club’s 2022 Home Opener. With a large crowd expected to welcome back pro soccer to the state of Oklahoma, Saturday will be the first of 17 home matches for FC Tulsa from now until October.
Expectations for the 2022 season remain high, even after a season-opening road loss to Charleston Battery last weekend. An undeserved red card shown to Tulsa’s Rodrigo da Costa early in the second half snuffed out any hope of a result as FC Tulsa was forced to play a man down for nearly half of the match. That card and subsequent ejected was rescinded on Wednesday as an Independent Review Panel ruled the referees made a bad call. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done.
Now FC Tulsa must move on and rectify its start to 2022 with a home win on Saturday night. It will be a challenge against what is expected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference – Birmingham Legion FC. The sides played four times in 2021, with FC Tulsa getting the better of the matchup, logging two wins and a draw in those meetings.
When 7:30 p.m. CT hits on Saturday night, the party will begin at ONEOK Field. Get tickets to be a part of the FC Tulsa experience by clicking this link.
SCOUTING BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC
FC Tulsa faithful should be familiar with Legion FC after two memorable trips to Tulsa in 2021. While Birmingham kept most of its pieces in the midfield and defense, it retooled its forward group to generate more offense, including a former Tulsa man on the wing. The electrifying Brazilian Marlon, a staple in Tulsa from 2019-2021, signed with Birmingham in the offseason as a free agent and is already paying dividends. He scored in his first appearance for the Legion, a long-range equalizer into the top corner of the net to earn a draw against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Expect Birmingham to use speed to move the ball down the wings with pacey full-backs and wingers, relying on powerful center-backs and one of the league’s best keepers in Matt Van Oekel to clean up anything defensively. In 2021, FC Tulsa had success against Birmingham finding openings left by those over-aggressive full-backs.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1) JJ Williams vs. Marlon
Marlon wasn’t the only one trading one black and gold for another. Forward JJ Williams made the opposite move in the offseason, signing as a free agent with Tulsa. Both players scored significant goals at ONEOK in the rivalry last season – Marlon, a game-winner in the 90’ minute for Tulsa and Williams, a late-equalizer in the final matchup of the season. With the two players swapping sides for 2022 and both coming off the bench as substitutes in their respective season openers with new teams, each will be relied on to make a late-game impact on Saturday.
2) Getting an Early Result
In each of the last two seasons, FC Tulsa has gotten off to fast starts and rode those to USL Championship Playoffs appearances. In a highly competitive Eastern Conference, FC Tulsa can’t afford to drop early points at home. It’s way too early to call Saturday’s match a must-win, but starting off the season with two losses would create adversity and pressure for FC Tulsa. A result, even a draw, would be something to build upon leading into a second consecutive home match on Wednesday night at ONEOK Field.
3) Healthier and Stronger
Amidst the chaos of several cards, missed calls and bad weather last weekend was three key pieces out for FC Tulsa – captain and full-back Bradley Bourgeois and full-back Jorge Corrales missing through injury and midfielder Eric Bird out due to suspension. What that meant was center-back Ronald Rodriguez having to play out of position at right back, impacting FC Tulsa on the backline and down the right wing. With Bourgeois and Corrales nearing full health, all three Tulsa players who were out of the season opener could be available for head coach Michael Nsien this weekend.
HOW TO WATCH
If it’s not already clear enough, this is a match you don’t want to miss. There is no reason not to be there with tickets starting at only $12 and plenty of free parking available around the stadium. With affordability and a premium experience, there is truly no better value for a night out in Tulsa.
While the experience will be better in person, FC Tulsa has renewed its broadcast partnership with FOX23 to show all regular season matches on My41 Tulsa in 2022. The broadcast is also available nationally through ESPN+.
As always, fans can follow @FC Tulsa on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for in-game updates, stats, highlights and more.
