USL Game Report

Thursday, April 16, 2015

TULSA,  Okla. - Tulsa Roughnecks FC claimed its first victory in club history on a memorable night at  ONEOK Field on Thursday as Lucas Cordeiro's goal earned a 4-3 victory against Seattle Sounders FC 2. The Roughnecks overcame a halftime deficit with a pair of second-half goals, and handed Sounders FC 2 its first defeat of the season.

Trailing 3-2 at the break, Tulsa got a tying goal from Steven Miller in the 69th minute before the game-winner from Cordeiro with 12 minutes to go. 

The end-to-end action started quickly, as Tulsa opened the scoring in just the second minute, when a mix-up in the Sounders defense allowed Gibson Bardsley to steal in alone on goal, and the Tulsa midfielder calmly slotted home with his left foot to give the Roughnecks an early lead.

It didn’t take long for S2 to reply, courtesy of 19-year-old Qudus Lawal. The Nigerian was perfectly placed in the eighth minute to slide home an initial shot that appeared to be going wide.

One minute later, Lawal got behind the Tulsa defense and beat Zac Lubin to give the Sounders a 2-1 lead.

Lubin came up big in the 15th minute after Tulsa defender Ben Brewster was whistled for a foul in the penalty area. Tulsa's goalkeeper and captain made a diving save on Giulano Frano’s penalty kick to the right corner to keep the Roughnecks' deficit just one goal.

Eli Galbraith-Knapp got the Roughnecks back on level terms with an impressive strike in the 19th minute. The Tulsa midfielder found himself in space 25 yards from goal and delivered a blast into the upper-right corner to make it 2-2.

Again, S2 found an answer. Jimmy Ockford beat the Tulsa defense in the 25th minute off a corner kick to convert his first goal of the year and give Seattle a 3-2 lead.

It was the final goal of an entertaining first half as S2 carried its one-goal lead into halftime.

The start of the second half proved as lively as the first, as Tulsa’s Sammy Ochoa, a former member of Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer, was left open on the right side of the penalty area with an open goal in front of him. Ochoa’s shot was blocked by the defense to keep Seattle’s one-goal lead in place.

Play leveled out over the next 20 minutes before the Roughnecks got an equalizer. Bardsley, who caused S2 problems through much of the match, fired from distance. His shot caromed off the crossbar, but came to an onrushing Miller, who fired home to tie the score.

The game-winner came on a throw in from the right side. Seattle goalkeeper Charlie Lyon rushed out to try and punch clear, but was unable to make contact as the ball dropped to Cordeiro in the penalty area, and he deposited a low finish it into the back of the net to put the Roughnecks up 4-3.

Seventeen minutes later, including a nervous five minutes of stoppage time, ONEOK Field was covered in orange smoke as the Tulsa Roustabouts and the other fans celebrated the first win in franchise history.