A Marcus Epps Brace Lifts FC Tulsa to the 2-0 Victory
TULSA – A crisp Oklahoma night in downtown Tulsa set the scene on Wednesday night for what would turn out to be a thrilling evening of soccer for the home fans. The match was originally scheduled to be played last weekend, but the delay didn’t have any effect on FC Tulsa as a fresh Marcus Epps bagged a brace and Austin Wormell proved unbeatable in goal in the 2-0 affair.
It did not even take seven minutes for FC Tulsa to strike, its second consecutive match in which the black and gold opened the scoring. Darío Suárez found an on-rushing Marcus Epps down the left side and split two defenders with a perfect pass. Epps held up play in front of the goalkeeper as he was joined by Rodrigo da Costa in the penalty area. Da Costa’s arrival caused just enough hesitation from the Monterey Bay defender to open up a shooting angle for Epps who pulled the trigger and buried his attempt.
The goal marked Epps’ first since joining FC Tulsa earlier this season, but not his last, as Suárez earned his club-best fifth assist on the play.
From that point on, Monterey Bay threatened until the halftime whistle, sending in 19 crosses and totaling nine shots. A sensational first-half effort from FC Tulsa’s Austin Wormell kept the visitors off the scoreboard through the first 45 minutes with four saves made.
The second half got off to a much slower start than its counterpart with the two clubs combining for just five shots through the first through the 65′ minutes of action. The best opportunity for either side during that stretch was following a free kick in the 59′ minute. The ball found its way to Suárez who took a touch, settled himself, then unleashed a shot that unfortunately deflected off one of his own teammates.
It would not be until the 82′ minute that the match would provide another goal, and it was Epps once again to send the ONEOK crowd into a frenzy. A flawless cross guided in by substitute Ciaran Winters was not wasted by the forward from Mississippi as he banged home his second of the evening.
FC Tulsa’s 2-0 victory proved to be the club’s sixth clean sheet of the season, five of which have been credited to Austin Wormell over his 21 starts. The squad has scored eight goals over its last three outings to earn seven points in that stretch with one match remaining in 2022.
Below are three takeaways from tonight’s match.
1) Keeping the Streak
With another two goals scored on Wednesday night, FC Tulsa extended its scoring streak to 10 straight matches, the club’s longest run dating back to its stretch of 12 matches between August 30, 2020 and May 9, 2021. Over these last 10 matches, FC Tulsa has found the back of the net 19 times.
2) Epps Bags Two
Marcus Epps’ two goals marked not only the first of his Tulsa career, but the first brace of his professional career. The scores were the 26th and 27th of his pro spell between USL Championship and MLS to pair with his 16 total assists. Epps now joins Luca Sowinski as the two FC Tulsa players this season to score their first goal with the club on the same night in which they tallied at least one more.
3) Numbers Hold True
FC Tulsa’s 9th win at ONEOK Field of the season in 16 outings once again proved that when this club is leading at halftime, they nearly always win. The club’s record improved to 8W-1L-0D when leading at the break and to 10W-2L-3D when scoring multiple goals in a match.
UP NEXT
The final match of FC Tulsa’s 2022 campaign will take place on Saturday, October 15 as the club hosts playoff-bound Memphis 901 FC. It will also be Fight Cancer Night at ONEOK Field, a night dedicated to raising both awareness and funds to fight against breast cancer. Tickets to the match can be purchased here.
MARCUS EPPS – 7′ MINUTE
