USL Game Report

Saturday, April 4, 2015

TULSA, Okla. – Kris Tyrpak scored two goals – one in each half – to lead the Austin Aztex to a 2-0 victory against host Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday in front of 5,067 spectators at ONEOK Field.

Austin goalkeeper Devin Perales recorded eight save, running Tulsa’s scoreless streak to 209 minutes. From Tulsa’s perspective, it was a frustrating match after outshooting Austin 22-11.

The Roughnecks dropped to 0-2-1 on the season while Austin improved to 2-1-0.

With five changes to the Tulsa squad that started the first two games of the season, the Roughnecks started the game quickly, but missed opportunities proved costly. The first chance came in a ninth-minute flurry when a trio of shots failed to produce an opening goal. Shots from Eli Galbraith-Knapp and Oscar Jimenez were saved before a final attempt from Sammy Ochoa went wide of goal.

A corner kick for Tulsa in the 21st minute produced a chance for Gibson Bardsley, but his header missed just wide.

One minute later, the Aztex opened the scoring against the run of play. Tyrpak got behind defender Mason Grimes and dribbled around keeper Zac Lubin. His soft shot rolled between the legs of Grimes and settled softly into the net to put Austin in front 1-0.

The score line remained the same as the two teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime.

After the break, the Roughnecks again started quickly with three corner kicks in the first five minutes of the second half as Bardsley and Ochoa caused problems for the backline of the Aztex.

For the second time in two matches, Bardsley had a goal waved off. In the 51st minute, he controlled a long ball and beat goalkeeper Perales but the assistant referee’s flag was up for offside, keeping the Roughnecks off the scoreboard.

The Aztex took advantage of the pressure from the Roughnecks to net a second goal on a counter attack in the 66th minute, and again it was Tyrpak inflicting the damage. The forward found space on the left side and buried a blast from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net to make it 2-0.