SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Tulsa Athletic escaped Springfield with one point with a goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time for a 1-1 draw against Demize NPSL on Thursday (May 19) at Harrison Stadium on the campus of Drury University.
Tulsa Athletic moved to 2-0-1 on the season with seven points, and Demize went to 0-0-1 with one point in their season opener.
Joe Garcia tallied the equalizer in the final moments of the contest as he poked in the goal, his fourth in three NPSL matches and fifth across all competition this season, in the eighth minute of eight minutes of stoppage time late in the second half.
Demise NPSL took the lead in the 90th minute with the match’s first goal of the night.
The green and yellow had some opportunities throughout the night, but couldn’t convert the chances into goals until the late goal. Tulsa’s shots ended up going just high, wide or Demize’s goalkeeper made a couple big saves.
Late in the contest, Demize also almost took the lead with a shot that hit the crossbar.
Bryson Reed earned the start in goal, going the full 90 minutes. He moved to 2-0-1 in the NPSL season.
The 1-1 draw was the third straight 1-1 result for the two clubs when playing in Springfield in Heartland Conference regular season contests. Tulsa Athletic and Demize NPSL played to 1-1 finals in 2021 and 2019 during the regular season. In Heartland Conference regular season matches, the two sides have also tied in three straight. However, Tulsa earned a 2-1 win in the playoffs in the Heartland Conference Finals in the 2021 season.
Tulsa Athletic returns home for a Sunday match against Arkansas Wolves at 2 p.m. at Athletic Community Field at Hicks Park. Individual game tickets are only $10 with season tickets still available for $25. A live stream will be available.
