FC Tulsa’s Performance Headlined by a Stunner from Milo Yosef
FC Tulsa’s Performance Headlined by a Stunner from Milo Yosef
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After a hard-fought battle 6,035 feet above sea level in which FC Tulsa not only battled Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, but also the elements that come with such altitude, the 2023 USL Summer Showcase match concluded with FC Tulsa capturing a point in what many deem the most difficult environment the USL Championship has to offer.
FC Tulsa absorbed plenty of early pressure from Switchbacks FC, content to yield the lion’s share of the possession to the home side and opt to counter instead. Blair Gavin’s side only saw 43% of the ball during the opening half, but it is all about what you do with it when you have it.
While the Switchbacks failed to find its way past Tulsa’s brilliant goalkeeper Michael Nelson who came up with three saves on three shots faced during the period, FC Tulsa needed only one shot on target to score the match opener.
Milo Yosef received the ball on the left side of the pitch in the 42′ minute and dared his defender to engage in the duel. Once the Colorado Springs man committed, Yosef danced right around him and fired off a missile towards the back post. The shot perfectly glanced off the inside of the post and rolled past the line, a thundering attempt that the best goalkeepers in the world would not get a glove to.
Early in the second half, Colorado Springs would have equalized if not for a goal-line stop off the head of Eric Bird kept the ball out of the back of the net.
Heavy pressure from the Switchbacks continued throughout the second half, but Tulsa continued to clog the middle of the pitch and intercept the attempted shots before the ball found Nelson’s frame.
Nearly 37% of the match had been played inside FC Tulsa’s final third, and in the 79′ minute, the defense finally caved and surrendered the equalizer to Jonas Fjeldberg who came on as a substitute two minutes earlier.
Both clubs could have netted the go-ahead goal, but things at Weidner Field ended level. With the draw, FC Tulsa became just the fourth club to leave Colorado Springs with a result this season.
FC Tulsa remains undefeated when leading at halftime in 2023, moving to 5W-0L-1D.
UP NEXT
FC Tulsa returns to the friendly confines of ONEOK Field next Friday, August 9 to host Tampa Bay Rowdies. The match kicks off at 8 p.m. CT.
GOALS
42′ TUL – Milo Yosef (assist: Marcus Epps)
79′ COS – Jonas Fjeldberg (assist: Maalique Foster)
LINEUPS
FC Tulsa: Nelson, Ruxi, Tetteh, Malou, Yosef, McCabe, Fernandez, Bird, Epps, Dyer, Goodrum (Subs used: Worth, Haji)
Switchbacks FC: Kuzminsky, Mahoney, Agren, Skundrich, Chapman, Williams, Tejada, Backford, Henríquez, Foster, Williams (Subs used: Magee, Echevarria, Wheeler, Fjeldberg)
