Photo courtesy Sacramento Republic FC
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Tulsa Roughnecks FC was moments away from recording its first win of the 2018 USL regular season, but Espino Vazquez fired in an 89th-minute strike to secure a 1-1 result for Sacramento Republic FC before a crowd of 11,569 fans at Papa Murphy’s Park on Saturday night. Vazquez hit a right-footed blast by Tulsa goalkeeper Fabián Cerda with minutes to spare after the hosts had fallen behind in the second minute of the match. Joaquin Rivas was the one to put the Roughnecks ahead early, as he headed the ball by Sacramento goalkeeper Josh Cohen after Paris Gee delivered an inch-perfect cross into the box. Sacramento pushed hard for the equalizer for the remainder of the match, coming close on numerous occasions. Cameron Iwasa had arguably the best opportunity of the game for Sacramento before Vazquez’s eventual equalizer, but his header was pushed by a diving Cerda onto the right post and back into play in the 80th minute. With the result, Republic FC moves to 4-0-3, while Tulsa is now 0-3-3 this year.
Scoring:
2’ – TUL – Joaquin Rivas (Paris Gee)
89’ – SAC – Espino Vazquez (Villyan Bijev)
Three Things That Matter:
1. Sacramento was close to suffering its first defeat of the season, but Espino Vazquez came through in the clutch. However, the team's perfect record at Papa Murphy’s Park is no more. Despite dropping its first points of the year at home, Sacramento can walk away knowing it controlled the match on Saturday, holding 59.8 percent of possession and recording five more shots than the Roughnecks.
2. Tulsa turned in one of its most impressive performances of the 2018 campaign, but it was still not enough to earn victory. The Roughnecks have now recorded three consecutive ties after earning back-to-back draws against Portland Timbers 2 and Fresno FC. Goalkeeper Fabián Cerda turned in another exceptional performance after recording a shutout against T2 on April 4, making four saves and recording three punches to deny Sacramento time and time again.
3. While Cerda deserves a lot of credit for holding off wave after wave of Sacramento attacks, the back line, including Minnesota United FC loanee Wyatt Omsberg, impressed many on Saturday. Adriano Jusino, Paris Gee, Francisco Ugarte and Omsberg combined for nine interceptions, eight tackles and 18 clearances. Omsberg, who joined the team this week, turned heads with his performance, winning five of his eight duels.
USLSoccer.com Man of the Match
Paris Gee, Tulsa Roughnecks FC – The defender recorded the assist on Tulsa’s opening goal of the match, completed 75 percent of his passes, and recorded three clearances and one interception.
Upcoming Games:
Sacramento Republic FC at Portland Timbers 2 – May 2, 10 p.m. ET, Providence Park
Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Las Vegas Lights FC – May 5, 11 p.m. ET, Cashman Field