CLAREMORE – Luis Flores finished with a brace with two goals in the second half to give Tulsa Athletic a 2-0 win over Demize NPSL on Wednesday (July 12) at Soldier Field on the campus of Rogers State University. With the victory, the green and yellow advance to the Heartland Conference Championship on Saturday (July 15) against OKC 1889 FC at 7:30 p.m. at RSU.
The two goals happened in a matter of 13 minutes. Tulsa Athletic went up 1-0 in the 77th minute when Joel Quashie played a ball to Flores, who was named the Man of the Match by the TATV broadcast, and he hit the strike for the goal.
Flores doubled the score to 2-0 in the 89th minute after a cross to him on the left side of the box. He took one touch and fired the shot into the back of the net with his left foot to put the game away.
Bryson Reed earned the shutout win in goal. He once again came up big with saves on some free kicks from Demize. The back line of Ethan Gordon, Chris Taylor, Vitor Turnes and captain Joe Ruiz kept the pressure off and controlled the game.
Although the first half was scoreless, Tulsa had some opportunities to take the lead. Flores nearly added a goal all by himself in the 31st minute splitting defenders and hitting a shot with his right foot, but Demize’s goalkeeper made the save. In the opening minutes, Flores had a header that went just wide off a cross from Rio Mello.
Demize’s closest chance came in the second half when their free kick hit off the post in the 57th minute.
Saturday is the fourth straight Heartland Conference Championship appearance for Tulsa Athletic. The green and yellow won the three previous appearances. This is the second straight season Tulsa Athletic hosts OKC 1889 FC in the conference championship.
Tulsa Athletic plays host to OKC 1889 FC on Saturday (July 15) in the Heartland Conference Championship at Soldier Field on the campus of RSU. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and a live video stream on Tulsa Athletic’s YouTube channel will be available.
