TULSA, Okla. (April 25, 2026) — FC Tulsa found a second half equalizer against One Knoxville SC but could not overcome dropping down to 10 men as they came out on the wrong end of a penalty shootout in 1(3)-1(2) fashion on Saturday night at ONEOK Field in its opening Prinx Tires USL Cup group stage contest.
The visitors came out aggressive in the attack early on and created some problems for the host. Knoxville ultimately found the back of the net in the 36th minute off a deflection after a couple of saves from Tulsa goalkeeper Alex Tambakis.
The hosts responded well in the second half with a pair of halftime substitutions – midfielder Bruno Lapa and defender Harvey St Clair – igniting the side. The progression in the attack finally in a 73rd minute equalizer as a bouncing ball in the box found the foot of forward Remi Cabral who knotted things up at one.
“We just had to continue to do what we’ve been working on,” Lapa said. “We had conversations at halftime that we were going away from who we are, and I think we found the rhythm and created better chances to put ourselves back into the game. Moving forward, this is something that we should build on and improve.”
Tulsa seemed poised to push for a match winner but were forced to sit back after defender Lamar Batista received his second yellow card in the 78th minute. Tambakis made a few saves in the penalty shootout, but they proved to not be enough as the Scissortails were forced to settle for a point.
“I think we struggled in the first half but had a positive response in the second half,” Head Coach Luke Spencer said. “We were way better on the ball in the second half, and we felt that a goal was coming, so we had all the momentum in that moment. Then, we go down a man, so that changes things, but I’m proud of the fight the group showed in the end.”
Cabral found the back of the net for the second time across all competitions in 2026. This is the second consecutive shootout loss against the defending USL League One champion One Knoxville SC for FC Tulsa with the last one also featuring a red card from Batista.
The Black and Gold hit the road next week for two key Western Conference clashes as they travel to west Texas to take on El Paso Locomotive FC on April 29 before heading to California to face Monterey Bay FC on May 3.
“We have to keep pushing hard. and we know we have to play better,” Tambakis said. “The good thing is we have a quick turnaround now to Wednesday. We have to forget about this game and move forward to play on Wednesday and win the game.”
FC Tulsa is back in action at ONEOK Field on Friday, May 22 as it takes on Hartford Athletic at 7:30 p.m. in an interleague clash. Tickets are available at fctulsa.com/tickets or by calling 918-727-2231. The match will be broadcast on Fox23 and streamed on ESPN+.
PRINX TIRES USL CUP – MATCH SUMMARY
FC Tulsa 1(2):1(3) One Knoxville SC | ONEOK Field | Saturday, April 25, 2026
SCORING
- KNX – Teddy Baker 36’ (Braudilio Rodrigues)
- TUL – Remi Cabral 73’
Penalties
- KNX – Babacar Diene – Miss
- TUL – Bruno Lapa – Make
- KNX – Eli Conway – Make
- TUL – Nelson Pierre – Miss
- KNX – Dani Fernandez – Make
- TUL – Bailey Sparks – Make
- KNX – Teddy Baker – Make
- TUL – Owen Damm – Miss
- KNX – John Murphy – Miss
- TUL – Jeorgio Kocevski – Miss
MISCONDUCT
- TUL – Alonzo Clarke (Yellow) 49’
- TUL – Lamar Batista (Yellow) 55’
- TUL – Lamar Batista (Red) 78’
- KNX – Teddy Baker (Yellow) 90’+1’
LINEUPS
FC Tulsa (4-3-3) – Alex Tambakis; Owen Damm, Abdoulaye Cissoko (Lamar Batista 18’), Alonzo Clarke, Lucas Stauffer; Delentz Pierre (Raheem Somersall 62’), Jeorgio Kocevski, Jamie Webber (Bruno Lapa 46’); Bailey Sparks, Remi Cabral (Nelson Pierre 76’), Kalil ElMedkhar (Harvey St. Clair 46’)
Subs Not Used: Dane Jacomen, Ian Carlo Souza Daniel, Zion Siranga
One Knoxville SC (4-2-3-1) – Johan Garibay; Chris Tiao, Dani Fernandez, Jordan Skelton, Jaheim Brown; Teddy Baker, Abel Caputo (John Murphy 62’); Braudilio Rodrigues (William Perkins 76’), Mikkel Gøling (Real Gill 62’), Kyle Linhares (Eli Conway 76’); Denis Krioutchenkov (Babacar Diene 62’)
Subs Not Used: Jonathan Burke, Finn McRobb
