FC Tulsa

Not to be confused with FC Tulsa (NPSL), the fourth-division soccer team that played in the 2010 NPSL season.

FC Tulsa
Nickname(s)Roughnecks
FoundedDecember 18, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-12-18) (as Tulsa Roughnecks FC)
StadiumONEOK Field
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Capacity7,833
OwnersRyan, J.W. and Kyle Craft
Head CoachLuke Spencer
LeagueUSL Championship
202410th, Western Conference
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitefctulsa.com
Current season

FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.

History

[edit]

The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, brothers and co-owners of the Tulsa Drillers minor league baseball franchise. The Hubbards were announced as co-owners and co-chairs on December 18, 2013.[1][2] Prodigal, LLC., owner of Oklahoma City Energy FC, another USL club, served as a minority owner.[3][4]

The club's original logo used from 2014 to 2019

On February 26, 2014, it was announced that the team would be known as Tulsa Roughnecks FC, paying homage to the original Roughnecks which played in the original North American Soccer League from 1978 until the league folded in 1984 (and were best known for winning Soccer Bowl '83).[5] The name received nearly 50% of the votes in a "name the team" contest held in February 2014.

The team logo, colors and uniforms were introduced on September 2, 2014.[6] The oil derrick in the original logo, as well as the name of the team, was a reference to Tulsa's "Oil Capitol" heritage; the dictionary definition of a "roughneck" is a worker in an oil-well drilling crew.[7] The team colors are Orange and Navy Blue with all kits supplied by Adidas.[8]

On August 20, 2019, it was announced that the Craft family, composed of Tulsa natives and brothers JW, Ryan, and Kyle Craft, had acquired the club from the Drillers and Prodigal Soccer.[9]

On December 4, 2019, the club announced that it would be renamed as FC Tulsa beginning with the 2020 season.[10] The team's new logo was designed by Matthew Wolff.

Stadium

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Entrance to ONEOK Field, home to FC Tulsa

The team plays at ONEOK Field, a 7,833-seat stadium in the Greenwood District of Downtown Tulsa. The field opened in 2010 and was made the FC Tulsa's home in 2015. In order to transform the field from a baseball field to a soccer pitch, real sod is laid down atop the entire infield and the pitch stretches the length of the stadium, with one goal on the North side of the pitch and the other on the South side.

Club culture

[edit]

FC Tulsa's main rivals are Oklahoma City Energy FC in the Black Gold Derby, with both teams being located in Oklahoma. The supporters group of both teams established a trophy, a four-foot wrench painted with the colors of each team on either side, which is awarded to the regular season winner of the derby.

83UNITED are the only supporters group recognized by the club.[11] There are two unofficial supporters groups: Tulsa Lunatics and 918 Brigade.

FC Tulsa also shares a local derby with Tulsa Athletic, with both teams playing in Tulsa. While the teams have played in preseason, they can only meet in official competition during the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which has now happened twice:

  FC Tulsa win   Draw   Tulsa Athletic win

April 5, 2022 USOC FC Tulsa 2–1 Tulsa Athletic Tulsa, OK
7:30pm CDT Brown 5'
Rodríguez 28'		 Report Nzojyibwami 77' Stadium: ONEOK Field
Attendance: 2,338
Note: Inaugural Tulsa Derby[12]
April 5, 2023 USOC Tulsa Athletic 1–0 FC Tulsa Tulsa, OK
7:00pm CDT Harris 58' Report Stadium: Athletic Community Field at Hicks Park
Referee: Brandon Gardner

Sponsorship

[edit]
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2015–2016 England Admiral Oculto
2017–2018 United States New Balance Osage Casino
2019 Germany Adidas
2020–2021 Williams
2022–2024 Germany Puma
2025–present Denmark Hummel

Players and staff

[edit]

Current roster

[edit]
As of December 16, 2024[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Michael Creek
3 DF Comoros COM Alexis Souahy
4 DF England ENG Arthur Rogers
6 MF United States USA Boubacar Diallo
7 MF Jamaica JAM Andrew Booth
13 DF Brazil BRA Jean Carlo Filho
17 MF Colombia COL Edwin Laszo
19 FW United States USA Stefan Stojanovic
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF United States USA Patrick Seagrist
21 FW United States USA Alex Dalou
47 DF Scotland SCO Harvey St Clair
67 DF United States USA Owen Damm
77 MF England ENG Faysal Bettache
99 GK United States USA Johan Peñaranda
— FW United States USA Kalil ElMedkhar
  1. ^
    USL Academy player
    2.

Staff

[edit]
As of November 13, 2024
  • United States Mario Sanchez – technical director
  • United States Luke Spencer – head coach
  • Vacant - assistant coach
  • Australia Andy Costin – Director of Performance
  • England Adam Lewis – goalkeeping coach
  • United States Johnathon Millwee – head athletic trainer

Year-by-year

[edit]
As of October 29, 2024
Season Record Position Playoffs USOC Average
Attendance 		Top Goalscorer
Div League Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf. Overall Name Goals
2015 3 USL 28 11 11 6 49 46 +3 39 1.39 7th 14th DNQ R3 4,714 Mexico Sammy Ochoa 9
2016 USL 30 5 21 4 25 64 −39 19 0.63 15th 29th DNQ R2 3,950 Mexico Sammy Ochoa 11
2017 2 USL 32 14 14 4 46 49 −3 46 1.44 7th 13th CQF R4 3,851 United States Ian Svantesson 13
2018 USL 34 3 19 12 36 77 −41 21 0.66 17th 22nd DNQ R2 3,094 El Salvador Joaquin Rivas 12
2019 USLC 34 8 16 10 45 69 −24 34 1.00 17th 31st DNQ R2 2,031 Brazil Rodrigo da Costa 9
2020 USLC 15 6 2 7 21 16 +5 25 1.67 7th 13th CQF NH 2,636 Cuba Darío Suárez 8
2021 USLC 32 14 13 5 49 48 +1 47 1.47 8th 15th CQF NH 3,438 Brazil Rodrigo da Costa 11
2022 USLC 34 12 16 6 48 58 −10 42 1.24 8th 16th DNQ R3 4,044 United States JJ Williams[A] 9
2023 USLC 34 10 15 9 43 55 −12 39 1.15 10th 21st DNQ R2 4,445 United States Phillip Goodrum 12
2024 USLC 34 9 14 11 33 48 −15 38 1.12 10th 21st DNQ R16 3,714 United States Stefan Stojanovic 5

^ 1. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
^ 2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

  1. ^
    Top Goalscorer by highest goal rate per 90 minutes played (JJ Williams: 0.61; Darío Suárez: 0.41; Rodrigo da Costa: 0.32)
    2.

Head coaches

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As of October 29, 2024

Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Draw Loss Win %
David Irving  England November 18, 2014 December 6, 2016 61 17 10 34 027.87
David Vaudreuil  United States December 6, 2016 June 25, 2018 52 15 12 25 028.85
Michael Nsien  Nigeria June 25, 2018 June 17, 2022 114 36 28 50 031.58
Donovan Ricketts (interim)  Jamaica June 17, 2022 December 31, 2022 11 6 1 4 054.55
Blair Gavin[14]  United States January 1, 2023 January 8, 2024 35 10 9 16 028.57
Mario Sanchez[15]  United States January 16, 2024 November 13, 2024 37 11 11 15 029.73
Luke Spencer[16]  United States November 13, 2024 present 0 0 0 0 !—
Total 310 95 71 144 030.65
  • Includes USL regular season, USL playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup

Affiliations

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During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Tulsa Roughnecks had an MLS affiliation with the Chicago Fire FC. The Roughnecks' head coach at the time, David Vaudreuil, had made 26 appearances for Chicago during the 2001–2002 MLS season.[17] The Roughnecks' affiliation with the Chicago Fire was dissolved as of January 2019.[18]

On February 11, 2020, Tulsa formed a partnership with EFL Championship side Wigan Athletic after tweeting about a possible friendship with a Championship side, to which Wigan responded.[19]

On January 18, 2024, FC Tulsa announced a strategic partnership with Serie C team US Triestina Calcio 1918 covering all areas of technical squad management including scouting, data analysis, player development and operational best practices.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Tulsa to Join USL PRO in 2015" (Press release). United Soccer Leagues. December 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  2. ^ "Tulsa USL PRO soccer franchise holds contest to name team". Tulsa World. January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  3. ^ Moss, John (December 18, 2013). "Professional Soccer Is Returning To Tulsa". Tulsa, Oklahoma: KTUL-TV. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  4. ^ Brown, Mike (December 19, 2013). "Pro soccer headed to ONEOK Field in 2015". Tulsa World. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  5. ^ Bailey, Eric (February 26, 2014). "Fans vote to resurrect Roughnecks name for new Tulsa pro soccer team". Tulsa World. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  6. ^ "Roughnecks Unveil Logo, Uniforms" (Press release). United Soccer Leagues. September 2, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  7. ^ "Roughneck". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Eckert, T. J. (March 3, 2019). "Tulsa Roughnecks Announce Two New Changes". KTUL. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "Tulsa Roughnecks Enter New Era Under Craft Family Ownership". Tulsa Roughnecks FC. August 20, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "FC Tulsa Unveils New Name, Colors and Crest". USL Championship. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  11. ^ "83UNITED". 83united.org. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Staff Reports (March 24, 2022). "Tulsa Athletic wins U.S. Open Cup opener, sets up showdown with FC Tulsa". Tulsa World. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "2021 Roster". fctulsa.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  14. ^ Galbreath, Nolan (October 25, 2022). "Blair Gavin Named the Next Head Coach of FC Tulsa". fctulsa.com. FC Tulsa. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "FC Tulsa announces first-ever Head Coach and Technical Director, Mario Sanchez". fctulsa.com. FC Tulsa. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  16. ^ "FC Tulsa promotes Luke Spencer, appointed new Head Coach". USLChampionship.com. USL Championship. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  17. ^ Gordon, Bridget (March 16, 2018). "5 Things You Should Know About The Tulsa Roughnecks". Hot Time In Old Town. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  18. ^ Apostol, Ruel (January 16, 2019). "A Look At The Fire's New Affiliate Teams". Hot Time in Old Town. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  19. ^ "🤔 We've had a few people ask what on earth is going on with @FCTulsa, so let us explain a little bit..." Twitter.com (@laticsofficial).
  20. ^ FC Tulsa (January 18, 2024). "FC Tulsa Announces Transformational Partnership with Italian Professional Club Triestina". FC Tulsa.
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