TULSA, Okla. – Stefan Lukić scored in the second minute of stoppage time in extra time to lift No. 1 seed FC Tulsa to a 1-0 victory against No. 5 seed Phoenix Rising FC before a club-record crowd of 7,917 fans at ONEOK Field in the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs presented by Terminix, sending the Scissortails to the Western Conference Final for the first time in club history.

Lukić capitalized as the game appeared set to be headed to a penalty shootout when the hosts were awarded a late free kick in the left channel, 35 yards from goal. The initial ball into the penalty area came to Taylor Calheira, whose shot was blocked and looped high into the right side of the box where the Serbian measured his volley and struck home brilliantly for his second game-winner in as many postseason outings.

The game had offered few chances prior to Tulsa’s late winner, with Ian heading over off a short corner routine for the hosts early in the second half before Phoenix’s Charlie Dennis fired a deflected shot that was saved by Tyler Deric.

Both sides had chances go narrowly off target in extra time, too, with Jamie Webber rolling a finish just wide of the right post in the first period before Ihsan Sacko had a chance blocked wide by Lamar Batista. In the end, however, Tulsa’s super-sub came to the rescue again, sending another packed house home exhilarated.

Takeaways

FC Tulsa: The Scissortails were unable to find much of an attacking rhythm across the 120 minutes, failing to put a chance on target with the chances they created until Lukić proved their match-winner again with his sixth goal after coming on as a substitute this season.

Phoenix Rising FC: The visitors put together a strong road performance once again, but were unable to capitalize cleanly on their chances despite outshooting Tulsa 13-11 across the 120 minutes, recording only one shot on target overall as their season came to an end.

Key moment

Stefan Lukić’s stoppage-time winner provided another late-game moment for Tulsa, which had entered the playoffs having scored the most goals from the 76th minute on in USL Championship.

Key stat

FC Tulsa recorded 112 final third entries compared to 62 for Phoenix Rising despite the visitors holding 53.7 percent of possession, with Tulsa recording 157 of 338 passes in the final third of the field.

USLChampionship.com Player of the Match

Jamie Webber, FC Tulsa – The South African put in a complete two-way performance, recording two shots and two chances created while making four interceptions and winning three tackles and a team-high 16 of 25 duels.

Scoring Summary
TUL – Stefan Lukić 120+2’