Throwback Night Festivities Begin at 6p.m.
TULSA – The final contest of its three-match homestand awaits FC Tulsa on Saturday night against Loudoun United FC, and Tulsa will need to quickly put a difficult midweek result in the rearview mirror, now needing to make up nine points over its eight remaining matches to reach the playoffs. While certainly an uphill battle, it’s far from impossible.
FC Tulsa has quite a bit going well for it heading into this weekend’s matchup with Loudoun – Austin Wormell, the reigning USL Championship Player of the Week, has retained his red-hot form, Darío Suárez has been surging up both the goal and assist ladders for FC Tulsa, and the club has still only lost twice at home dating back to late April.
The previous contest between these two provided all the last-minute heroics FC Tulsa fans could ever ask for, something that they seem to have been served in heaping amounts this season with 14 goals scored beyond the 75’ minute this season. It was Super Darío acting as a super sub on July 3 when the Cuban came on in the 66’ minute of the match with his club down 2-0 to Loudoun on the road. Suárez scored the equalizer in the 85’ minute, then assisted Rodrigo da Costa’s 90+7’ minute crowd-silencer as FC Tulsa was able to steal a point away from the home side at the death.
Only four home matches remain on the schedule for FC Tulsa as the 2022 USL Championship season nears its conclusion, so don’t miss out on any of the action! Fans can get their tickets to the match by clicking here! Saturday night will also mark the final $1 Beer Night of the season, tickets to which can be purchased here.
Kickoff from ONEOK is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
SCOUTING LOUDOUN UNITED FC
Loudoun United FC is coming off just its second win over its last nine matches against a struggling Atlanta United 2 side, a stretch in which Loudoun was outscored 21-12. The club from Virginia is tied for the third-fewest goals scored in the USL Championship this season (27 in 24 matches) while conceding the fifth-most (48). Loudoun has struggled mightily away from home this season, posting a 1W-8L-1D record as the visitors.
Tyler Freeman has been a bright spot for an offense that has been below league average this season. In just 14 appearances for Loudoun, Freeman has scored a club-best six goals and leads the USL Championship in goals per 90 minutes (0.91) while tied for second in the league in shots on target per 90 (2.0).
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1) Suárez on the Rise
Darío Suárez, the man with the third-most goals scored in franchise history, has been heating up as of late after what was an unusually slow start to his season. Super Darío scored just once and tallied one assist in his first 15 appearances this season, but has picked up the pace. Over his last eight outings, Suárez has scored three goals and logged two more assists, trailing only Rodrigo da Costa for the most goals by an active FC Tulsa player in 2022 and tying Gabi Torres for the best assist total as well.
2) Wormell Stays Hot
Despite FC Tulsa conceding twice on Wednesday, goalkeeper Austin Wormell had another fine night in goal for his club. He made four saves on six shots faced, including an incredible point-blank save in the 83’ minute, but the rebound spilled out in front of a Hartford forward who scored on the second-chance effort. On the season, Wormell’s 79.5% save pct. is tied for the best mark in the USL Championship with Louisville City FC’s Kyle Morton. Wormell is also second in the league with 4.1 saves made per 90 minutes.
3) Throwback Night
Saturday night will be Throwback Night at ONEOK Field and FC Tulsa will be honoring the 1983 NASL Soccer Bowl ’83 Champion Tulsa Roughnecks! The club will be wearing special Roughnecks-inspired warmup jerseys that fans can purchase here, or as part of the Throwback Bundle which includes a complete FC Tulsa VIP experience. The NASL Soccer Bowl Trophy will be in attendance for fans to take pictures with, an exclusively 80’s playlist will be bumping throughout the night, and classic rocker Paul Benjamin is taking the FC Tulsa Summer Concert stage at 6 p.m!
HOW TO WATCH
Fans in Tulsa can tune into the match locally on My41 Tulsa or anyone can stream all the action live on ESPN+ across the country! Be sure to follow at @FCTulsa on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for match updates, highlights, polls, and more!
