After spending the first month of the USL season at home and taking the maximum amount of points in its first three matches, Sounders FC 2 (3-0-0, 9 points) hits the road for the first time to face Tulsa Roughnecks FC (0-2-1, 1 point) Thursday night at ONEOK Field.
The Rave Green haven’t had any trouble putting the ball in the back of the net, having scored 10 goals in their first three games. The club’s two goals allowed are tied for third in USL, resulting in a plus-eight goal differential that leads the league.
Tulsa has only scored one goal in its first three games while allowing five, and sits at the bottom of the Western Conference table, tied with LA Galaxy II with a game in hand.
“People have obviously seen the goals we’ve scored, but I think the most important thing we have done here is defended well as a team,” said S2 Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson. “We are definitely ready for whatever we face in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.”
Tulsa is coming off a bye-week, meaning the team will have had extra time to prepare for an S2 team that knocked off its rivals Portland Timbers 2 with a late goal from Giuliano Frano, who earned USL Team of the Week honors for his performance. A first-half goal by Harrison Delbridge of T2 marked the first time S2 had conceded first in a match, but it didn’t matter as the boys battled back for the full three points.
With the visit to Tulsa, S2 is set to face a team with plenty of Washington roots. Former Sounders FC player Sammy Ochoa has appeared in each game for Tulsa this season and leads the team in shots. Ochoa played for Seattle from 2011-13, scoring 10 goals across all competitions.
The Roughneck’s starting keeper is Zac Lubin, a former Sounders FC U-23 player who was on trial with S2 throughout most of the preseason. Lubin will know as well as anyone the attacking prowess of Andy Craven, who is tied for the league lead with three assists, as well as Darwin Jones is tied for the league-lead with three goals.
Other notable Washington soccer players with Tulsa are Western Washington University Men’s Soccer alumni Oscar Jimenez and Gibson Bardsley. Bardsley finished his four-year career at Western tied for first all-time in goals and second in assists. Jimenez tied the school record with 22 assists during his time with the Vikings.
Kickoff for Thursday’s game is at 5:00 p.m. PT, and will be live streamed on SoundersFC.com. You can also follow along with the team’s twitter account at @SoundersFC2.
