Tulsa Athletic and FC Wichita Play to 0-0 Draw
By Tulsa Athletic
Tulsa Athletic and FC Wichita played to a 0-0 draw in a contest presented by Tulsa Recycling on Saturday, May 11 at Veterans Park. The NPSL National Game of the Week was held back by a wet and soggy pitch due to the recent rainfall in the Tulsa area.
Tulsa Athletic (1-0-1) had some opportunities in the contest but couldn’t turn those into goals in the 0-0 draw. In a back-and-forth physical match, Tulsa Athletic controlled play, especially in the second half.
Gustavo Vargas looked like he put Tulsa Athletic up 1-0 in the 55th minute as his shot found the back of the net, but the green and yellow were called offside on the play to keep the match scoreless.
In the 66th minute, Aboubakr Diallo fired a strike to the left corner, however, FC Wichita goalkeeper Mark Weir came up with a huge save to keep it 0-0.
Substitute Juan Alvarez made a huge impact late in the contest as he forced Weir to make some big saves in the final 20 minutes.
Adam Habib nearly put Tulsa Athletic ahead in the 83rd minute, however, his left-footed shot found the side netting.
In the first half, Joe Garcia just missed on a few chances. His slicing shot to the upper right corner just missed being on frame early in the match. Garcia took a free kick in the 33rd minute from just outside of the box, but his shot went right into the Wichita wall.
Bryson Reed earned the shutout in goal, his second career shutout in his two years with Tulsa Athletic. Reed came up with some big saves to keep Wichita off the scoreboard.
Elvis Barclay was named the Tuffbox Defender of the Game after his performance. He along with defenders Ryan Alpers, Gustavo Vargas and Javo Reyes shut down the FC Wichita offense.
Tulsa Athletic ranks No. 1 in the Heartland Conference standing with four points after two contests. FC Wichita ranks third with one point.
Tulsa Athletic end their three-game homestand to open the season with Ozark FC on Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 pm at Veterans Park. Live video streaming will be available.
Photo Credit: Lori Scholl
Watch the full match replay here below via MyCujoo, the preferred live streaming partner of the NPSL.
