To truly appreciate Saturday night, you need to go back to FC Tulsa’s home opener in the middle of March against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

The Scissortails’ 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by Patrick Seagrist was played out before a crowd of 3,621 fans at ONEOK Field, a solid but not spectacular crowd after the club’s run of three seasons outside the postseason field.

Fast-forward eight months, and plenty around FC Tulsa has changed.

From the opening kickoff, the noise from the club-record sellout crowd of 7,917 fans swelled and receded, every half-chance accompanied by the sound of a stadium waiting to explode.

In the 122nd minute, and a penalty shootout potentially seconds away, Scissortails forward Stefan Lukić gave them exactly what they’d come to see.

The Serbian forward’s brilliant volley to the upper-right corner of the net lifted the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed into its first Western Conference Final in the USL Championship Playoffs in club history.

“Amazing,” said Tulsa Head Coach Luke Spencer. “Just like last week, we felt it in overtime. The fans gave us that extra push, and I don’t think that goal happens if they’re not here.”

• MOVING ON UP: The Scissortails’ success on the field this season has been one of the stories of the USL Championship campaign. Built on the back of a rugged defense that allowed the second-lowest Expected Goals Against mark in the West in the regular season and a never-say-die attack that produced the most late-game goals in the league and earned the most points after trailing in games in the regular season, the side that finish 10th in the conference a season ago powered up the standings.

• LATE STAGER: While offseason acquisition Taylor Calheira has been inarguably the leading light for the side – the 23-year-old set a club record with 15 regular season goals and led the USL-C with a +11.11 Goals Added mark per American Soccer Analysis – Lukić might be the player that most embodies Tulsa’s spirit. After spending the past three seasons in USL League One, most recently for Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, the 29-year-old has scored the extra time winner in each of its first two postseason outings, moving to six goals after coming on as a substitute across the regular season and playoffs this campaign.

• ROLLING UP: This postseason, Tulsa’s fans have responded. In the club’s first home playoff game in its 11-season history, they set a club record with 7,583 in attendance for victory against defending title-holders Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. On Saturday night, they topped that, going over ONEOK Field’s official capacity of 7,833 for the first time, living and dying with every moment.

For everyone at the club who’s had a role in making it happen, the scene on Saturday night was one they want to repeat many times over.

“To see the stadium filled like this is incredible,” said Lukić. “I give credit to the staff and every single player. I believe we are changing the culture in Tulsa – seeing the stands full and feeling that passion for soccer means the world to me.”

Now, as the highest remaining seed in the field, the Scissortails are in line to host the USL Championship Final if they can get past No. 3 seed New Mexico United, which advanced thanks to its own late dramatics against Orange County SC.

It promises to be another night to remember in downtown Tulsa.

“The coolest thing for me is seeing all these seats filled,” added defender Lamar Batista. “At the start of the season, we talked about manifesting first place, making playoffs, making history. To see it all unfold here is truly special. But we know we’re not done yet.”