TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa Athletic and FC Wichita played to a 0-0 draw in a contest presented by Tulsa Recycling on Saturday afternoon (May 11) at Veterans Park. The NPSL National Game of the Week was held back by a wet and soggy pitch due to the recent rainfall in the Tulsa area.
Tulsa Athletic (1-0-1) had some opportunities in the contest but couldn’t turn those into goals in the 0-0 draw. In a back-and-forth physical match, Tulsa Athletic controlled play, especially in the second half.
Gustavo Vargas looked like he put Tulsa Athletic up 1-0 in the 55th minute as his shot found the back of the net, but the green and yellow were called offside on the play to keep the match scoreless.
In the 66th minute, Aboubakr Diallo fired a strike to the left corner, however, FC Wichita goalkeeper Mark Weir came up with a huge save to keep it 0-0.
Substitute Juan Alvarez made a huge impact late in the contest as he forced Weir to make some big saves in the final 20 minutes.
Adam Habib nearly put Tulsa Athletic ahead in the 83rd minute, however, his left-footed shot found the side netting.
In the first half, Joe Garcia just missed on a few chances. His slicing shot to the upper right corner just missed being on frame early in the match. Garcia took a free kick in the 33rd minute from just outside of the box, but his shot went right into the Wichita wall.
Bryson Reed earned the shutout in goal, his second career shutout in his two-years with Tulsa Athletic. Reed came up with some big saves to keep Wichita off the scoreboard.
Elvis Barclay was named the Tuffbox Defender of the Game after his performance. He along with defenders Ryan Alpers, Gustavo Vargas and Javo Reyes shutdown the FC Wichita offense.
Tulsa Athletic ranks No. 1 in the Heartland Conference standing with four points after two contests. FC Wichita ranks third with one point.
Tulsa Athletic end their three-game homestand to open the season with Ozark FC on Saturday (May 18) at 2 p.m. at Veterans Park. Live video streaming will be available.
2019 NPSL Season
Heartland Conference
Tulsa 0 : 0 Wichita
Saturday, May 11
Tulsa, Okla. – Veterans Park
Discipline
TUL: Jamie Gilbert 50’
Lineups:
Tulsa
Bryson Reed, Ryan Alpers, Gustavo Vargas, Elvis Barclay, Javo Reyes, Jamie Gilbert (Juan Arias Alvarez 63’), Joe Garcia, Joe Ruiz, Aboubakr Diallo, Billy Nzojyibwami (Adam Habib 78’), Aaron Ugbah (Santiago Riveros 52’)
Wichita
Mark Weir, Ben Andoh, Jared Robbins, Uzi Tayou, Victor Olorunfemi, Nelson Landaverde (Ivan Quezada 81’), Eddie Gomez, Roberto Gomez, Chris Kelly (Teylor Cubero 62’), Luca Anelli (Devon Sutton 59’), Adam James (Blake Arndt 59’)
