There was a lot on the line Sunday as TA20 lined up to face rivals FF Premier. A win would’ve seen the boys in green go a minimum of 6 points clear at the top of the table. A loss, and Tyler FC Kings and FF Premier would be hot on the heels of the young Tulsa side.
Tulsa has been very good about setting the tone and grabbing an early goal thus far this season. They have done so in four out of their five matches. After a few half chances in the opening 10 minutes, it was no surprise when TA20 broke through and grabbed that early lead. Gabe Ontiveros has been a little bit of an unsung hero this season, but in the 14th minute his volley past DeLeon gave the greens an early 1-0 lead.
“It fell perfectly to me so I took a shot. The keeper got his fingertips to it, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from going into the back of the net.” Ontiveros modestly said about his excellent volley
TA20 then looked reminiscent of the Tulsa Athletic first team, as after the goal they looked hungry to find a second and try and put their Dallas opponents away early. Keith Peterson saw his close effort sail just over the bar and Jack Bratcher had a close range header hit the unfavorable side of the post. They also fell victim to what happens if an opponent is allowed to stay around a game unpunished. Sean Afkhaminia, who coincidentally is the owner of FF Premier, buried a sublime freekick at the half hour mark and the sides entered the half level.
Halftime 1-1.
The second act took on the appearance of the midseason title fight that it was. Four yellow cards were brandished and neither team appeared to have any interest in a draw. Nolan Cosgrove was steady and only called upon to make one save, his counterpart DeLeon however, was massive. DeLeon’s positioning and handling were both spot on as he made several saves to keep TA20 at bay and the score deadlocked. In the 74th minute however the “standing on his head” portion of the program began. A long service on a freekick from Dani Valdez found Whitney Gonslaves whose point blank effort was turned aside only to see a Ruben Torres follow up effort also denied by DeLeon. It proved to be the biggest moment in the game. In the 85th minute Gonsalves saw another close range attempt go agonizingly wide. Meyer and Pettiway were both excellent for FF Premier and Valdez, Barclay and a deeper lying Saldana were all top notch for TA20, but a winner was not to be found. Tulsa outshot their southern counterparts and had the better chances, but on this beautiful October day, the points were shared.
Full time 1-1.
In other Red River conference action Tyler FC Kings, who were at one point trailing 3-0 to Dallas City FC, RAN out winners 10-5. Yes, both owners were called to verify that ridiculous scoreline. The victory puts Tyler on 10 points. Four back of Tulsa Athletic U20. While FF Premier sit now on 7 points with one game in hand. After two consecutive draws, Tulsa will try to return to their winning ways as they travel to Little Rock to face Arkansas Wolves on Saturday at Scott Field at 6:00.
Goalscorers:
Ontiveros(1) 14th minute
Afkhaminia(1) 30th minute
