FC Tulsa Continues the USL Championship’s Longest Scoreless Streak at 253 Minutes
MONTCLAIR, N.J. – A second consecutive clean sheet wasn’t enough to secure a first road victory in 2022 as FC Tulsa had to settle for a 0-0 draw at New York Red Bulls II on Wednesday night. While the result marked the third straight draw for FC Tulsa, it was the first road point earned by the team this season as goalkeeper Austin Wormell made five saves in another sparkling performance between the posts. Wormell and his defense own the league’s longest active shutout streak courtesy of 253 straight minutes without a goal allowed.
Sticking with the 3-4-3 formation, FC Tulsa head coach Michael Nsien hoped to see continued progress defensively. The move paid off in the first half as the Tulsa backline limited New York to only zero shots on target and only six shots total.
Offensively, FC Tulsa showed a bit more than New York in the opening half as captain Bradley Bourgeois nearly opened the scoring a half an hour into the match. A clever ball from Darío Suárez found Bourgeois streaking down the right side. The captain’s tight angle shot beat Red Bulls II keeper Anthony Marcucci, but was just wide of the post.
That was the best chance of the half for FC Tulsa as the sides went into the locker rooms scoreless after the opening 45 minutes.
Chances stayed sparse until the 68′ minute in the second half when New York Red Bulls II nearly went in front. A rocket from Jesús Castenello rang off the inside of the left post and ricocheted back across goal. Tulsa scrambled the ball to safety to keep the sheet clean. Only two minutes later, FC Tulsa almost went in front itself when second half substitute Lebo Moloto threaded a pass to Rodrigo da Costa inside the box. Da Costa couldn’t find a way past Marcucci with his shot in the 1v1 opportunity.
FC Tulsa caught a break in the 79′ minute when Red Bulls II went down a man following a second yellow card shown to NYRBII defender Juan Castillo. Unfortunately, Tulsa couldn’t find a way through the Red Bulls II defense, but the visiting side did secure its first road result of the season, picking up another point in the table with its second consecutive clean sheet.
Here are three quick takeaways from the draw.
1) WORMELL CONTINUES RUN
Playing in his third league match this season, Austin Wormell continued his impressive run in the FC Tulsa net, recording his second consecutive clean sheet in the draw. Wormell made five saves in shutout, upping his season total to 15 over three matches and his save pct. to 93.8%. That mark continues to lead the league amongst all keepers who have started multiple matches this season.
2) OFFENSE SPUTTERS AGAIN
While Wormell and the defense has excelled, the FC Tulsa offense has sputtered, with just one goal scored over its last three matches. It’s the first time in the FC Tulsa-era of the franchise that Tulsa has been shutout in back-to-back matches and the first since June 7-22, 2019 when the team was the Roughnecks.
3) SHUTOUT STREAK
FC Tulsa and Austin Wormell are now riding a 253-minute shutout streak, dating back to the 17′ minute of Tulsa’s match on June 1 at ONEOK Field. It’s the longest streak in franchise history dating back to 2017 when the team had a 265-minute shutout streak over four matches between July 13 and August 5. FC Tulsa’s current 253-minute shutout streak is the longest active streak in the USL Championship.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa won’t play next weekend, but will have another midweek road match on Wednesday, June 22 at Memphis 901 FC. It’s a make-up from the postponed match back on April 13 when FC Tulsa traveled to Memphis, but was unable to play due to severe weather in the area. The match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT.
