TULSA – After falling behind early 1-0, Tulsa Athletic tallied three goals to win, 3-1, over Fort Worth Vaqueros in the South Region semifinals on Tuesday (July 16) at Veterans Park. With the victory, Tulsa advanced to the South Region finals on Saturday (July 20) at Miami FC in Miami.
Tulsa Athletic moved their unbeaten streak to 13-straight games this season as they have 10 wins and three draws in the regular season and postseason play.
The visiting Vaqueros tallied the opening goal of the contest in the 14th minute when VcMor Eligwe scored for a 1-0 edge for Fort Worth.
Tulsa, however, responded before halftime when Joe Garcia posted his fourth postseason goal to even the score in the 33rd minute of action. Garcia fired a shot with his left foot into the bottom right corner to make it 1-1 before halftime.
After the goal from Tulsa, the home side controlled possession and limited any opportunities for Fort Worth. Tulsa Athletic put together some chances before halftime, but it remained 1-1 at the halftime break.
In the second half, Tulsa continued to dominate the contest and hold on to most of the possession.
Substitute and local Tulsa product Aaron Ugbah took on the Fort Worth defense and cut inside to score a goal with his right foot for the game-winning tally in the 83rd minute for a 2-1 Tulsa Athletic lead.
Late in the match, substitute Junior Kazeem added an insurance goal to make it 3-1 for Tulsa Athletic in the 90th minute and end any chance for the visiting Vaqueros.
Tulsa Athletic advances to the South Region final for the first time since 2014 when Tulsa played Chattanooga FC. This is the second appearance in the regional final for Tulsa Athletic.
Tulsa Athletic travels to Miami FC for the South Region final on Saturday (July 20) at Barry University in Miami.
2019 NPSL Season
South Region Semifinals
Tulsa 3 : 1 Fort Worth
Tuesday, July 16
Tulsa, Okla. – Veterans Park
Scoring
FTW: VcMor Eligwe 14’
TUL: Joe Garcia 33’
TUL: Aaron Ugbah 83’
TUL: Junior Kazeem 90’
