Fresh off a resounding home victory last weekend, Sporting Kansas City II (3-5-1, 10 points) will venture to Oklahoma on Saturday for their first of seven consecutive away matches to conclude the 2020 USL Championship regular season. Awaiting them at ONEOK Field will be an upstart FC Tulsa side (2-1-4, 10 points) that began the campaign unbeaten in six before suffering a controversial loss their last time out against San Antonio FC.
Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 7 p.m. CT, marking the first time the teams have met since 2018 when they were known as the Swope Park Rangers and Tulsa Roughnecks, respectively. Fans can catch a live stream on ESPN Plus or follow @SportingKCII on Twitter for in-game updates.
Under the guidance of third-year head coach and former Sporting Kansas City great Paulo Nagamura, Sporting KC II cruised to a 3-0 triumph over OKC Energy FC last Saturday at Swope Soccer Village in the club's final home tilt of the regular season. Twenty-year-old Wilson Harris scored the 18th and 19th goals of his prolific USL Championship career before defender Danny Barbir steered home a Fredinho Mompremier corner kick to round out the comprehensive performance. The result marked SKC II's first three-goal salvo of the year and moved the side within four points of the second and final playoff spot in Group E.
On the opposite sideline, head coach Michael Nsien has vaulted FC Tulsa squarely into postseason discussion after the team labored to a 16th-place finish in the Western Conference in 2019. The team currently occupies third place in Group D, two points shy of the playoff line. Former Sporting KC II playmaker Lebo Moloto has played an important role in the attacking third, notably scoring in a 2-2 draw with Austin on Aug. 19, while Rodrigo da Costa and Dario Suarez have chipped in two goals apiece.
Saturday will see FC Tulsa play the first of five fixtures in a busy 15-day stretch, with home games against Rio Grande Valley FC and OKC as well as a double-dip at Austin on the immediate horizon. Sporting KC II, meanwhile, will hit the road from here on out. The top two regular season finishers in Groups A through H will then progress to the USL Championship Playoffs in October.
Match Information
USL Championship: Match 10 of 16
Date: Saturday, Aug. 29
Kickoff: 7 p.m. CT
Location: ONEOK Field (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
Live Stream: ESPN Plus
Sporting Kansas City II: 3-5-1, 10 points (4th place in Group E)
FC Tulsa: 2-1-4, 10 points (3rd place in Group D)
ESPN+ Live Stream Link: Click here
USL Championship MatchCenter: Click here
Match Notes: Click here
SOCIAL TAGS
Match-specific hashtag: #TULvSKC
Sporting KC II
Twitter: @SportingKCII
Instagram: @SportingKCII
FC Tulsa
Twitter: @FCTulsa
Instagram: @fctulsa
