Tulsa Athletic

Tulsa Athletic is an American soccer team and are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. 2013 was their inaugural season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is a national league at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. They compete in the NPSL's Heartland Conference. The team maintains amateur status under NPSL rules, allowing college players to participate without losing their collegiate eligibility. The club currently plays at Athletic Community Field at Hicks Park since the 2022 season, having previously played at Veterans Park (2018–21), LaFortune Stadium (2017) and Drillers Stadium (2013–16), the former home of the Tulsa Drillers baseball team.[1][2][3]

Tulsa Athletic
Full nameTulsa Athletic
Nickname(s)The A's
Founded2013 (2013)
StadiumAthletic Community Field at Hicks Park
OwnersSonny Dalesandro
Thomas J. Kern
Head coachJason Rogers
LeagueNational Premier Soccer League
2021NPSL National Runner Up
WebsiteClub website

Crest and colors

The green that Athletic wears is symbolic of "green country", the moniker given to the area of Oklahoma where Tulsa sits. The gold in the pinstripes that appear on the home kit (and are the dominant color of the away kit) represents trophies, championships, and victory. The crest is a pink shield featuring a unicorn facing a lion surrounding a soccer ball, symbolizing both strength and magic. The pink color of the crest is designed to illustrate the heart. The badge's location over the heart on the jersey signifies that all who wear the crest (players and fans alike) share the same heart.

Support

A supporters group associated with Tulsa Athletic are the Athletics Armory, who congregate behind the north goal at home matches.

Fans have given the team several unofficial nicknames, including "the A's" and "The Foxes", named after 'Lester', a lone fox who resides in the team's stadium.

Rivalries

In 2014 Oklahoma City FC left PDL to join the NPSL, which created an in-state rivalry. The two clubs separated by just 100 miles played in the OK Derby.

The inaugural Red River Cup was contested in May 2014. Four clubs (Fort Worth Vaqueros, Liverpool Warriors, Oklahoma City FC) met in a two-day tournament hosted by Tulsa, who won the title over Oklahoma City FC.[4]

Oklahoma City 1889 FC joined the NPSL in 2021 which resulted in another in-state rivalry, with supporters choosing the name “The War for I-44.”

A crosstown derby against FC Tulsa was established in 2022 through the U.S. Open Cup nicknamed the Tulsa Derby.

Tulsa Derby
Record
Won Drawn Lost GF GA
1 0 1 2 2
Results
Date Competition Winner Score Location
April 5, 2023 U.S. Open Cup Tulsa Athletic

1–0

 Hicks Park
April 5, 2022 U.S. Open Cup FC Tulsa

1–2

 ONEOK Field

War for I-44
Record
Won Drawn Lost GF GA
5 0 1 18 7
Results
Date Competition Winner Score Location
July 16, 2022 NPSL Playoffs Tulsa Athletic

5–1

 Tulsa, OK
July 16, 2022 NPSL Tulsa Athletic

5–1

 Tulsa, OK
May 25, 2022 NPSL Tulsa Athletic

3–0

 Oklahoma City, OK
July 14, 2021 NPSL Playoffs Tulsa Athletic

2–2 (5–4 in PKs)

 Tulsa, OK
June 27, 2021 NPSL Tulsa Athletic

2–0

 Edmond, OK
May 16, 2021 NPSL OKC 1889

1–3

 Tulsa, OK

Current squad
As of April 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Bryson Reed
2 DF United States USA Chris Taylor
3 MF United States USA Jonathan Harris
4 DF United States USA Rio Ramirez
5 DF United States USA Alejandro Chavez
6 MF Brazil BRA Vinicius Oliveira
7 FW Serbia SRB Stefan Cvetanovic
9 FW United States USA Aaron Ugbah
10 FW England ENG Jordan Watson
11 MF United States USA Roman Torres
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW United States USA Titus Grant
13 DF Mexico MEX Javo Reyes
17 MF United States USA Joe Garcia
18 MF United States USA Mitchell Cashion
19 MF Mexico MEX Ruben Torres
20 MF United States USA Ciaran Winters
21 DF United States USA Joe Ruiz
22 MF Gabon GAB Aboubakr Diallo
23 MF Brazil BRA Riolan Mello
25 GK United States USA Brady Moody

Year-by-year
Year Division League Regular Season W-D-L GF-GA Playoffs W-D-L GF-GA Open Cup W-D-L GF-GA
2013 4 NPSL 1st, South Central 10–2–0 44–9 South Region Semifinal 0–0–1 0–0 (Lost on penalties) did not qualify N/A N/A
2014 4 NPSL 1st, South Central 9–0–1 46–13 South Region Final 3–0–1 14–6 2nd Round 0–0–1 0–2
2015 4 NPSL 3rd, South Central 7–3–4 52–33 did not qualify N/A N/A 1st Round 0–0–1 1–3
2016 4 NPSL 1st, South Central 11–0–1 38–9 South Central Conference Final 1–0–1 5–3 did not qualify N/A N/A
2017 4 NPSL 2nd, Heartland 5–1–4 25–16 Heartland Conference Final 1–0–1 2–5 1st Round 0–0–1 1–1 (Lost on penalties)
2018 4 NPSL 3rd, Heartland 6–0–4 26–17 Heartland Conference Semifinal 0–0–1 0–1 did not qualify N/A N/A
2019 4 NPSL 1st, Heartland 7–3–0 24–8 South Region Final 3–0–1 12–7 did not qualify N/A N/A
2020 4 UPSL 1st, Central-North 13–0–1 60–11 Central Region Semifinal 1–0–1 4–4 Not played N/A N/A
2021 4 NPSL 2nd, Heartland 6–3–1 32–9 NPSL National Championship Runner Up 4–0–1 8–9 Not played N/A N/A
2022 4 NPSL 1st, Heartland 9–2–1 36–10 NPSL National Semifinal 4–0–1 8–3 2nd Round 1–0–1 4–2
2023 4 NPSL 3rd Round 2–0–1 2–3

All time Table
Match Type Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference Win %
Regular Season 115 84 14 17 385 136 +249 073.04
Playoffs 26 17 0 9 53 13 +40 065.38
U.S. Open Cup 8 3 0 5 8 11 −3 037.50
Total 149 104 14 31 446 185 +261 069.80
  • Updated as of May 13, 2023

Head coaches
  • Includes all competitive matches: regular season, playoffs, and open cup.
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinDrawLossGFGAGDWin %
Joey Ryan  United States 2013 2019 95 63 9 23 290 133 +157 066.32
Levi Coleman  United States 2020 2023 50 38 5 7 152 48 +104 076.00
Jason Rogers  United States 2023 Present 4 3 0 1 4 4 +0 075.00

Honors

Club
  • NPSL
    • National Runners-Up (1): 2021
  • NPSL South Region
    • Champions (2): 2021, 2022
      • Runners-Up (2): 2014, 2019
  • NPSL South-Central Conference
    • Champions (2): 2013, 2014
  • NPSL Heartland Conference
    • Champions (3): 2019, 2021, 2022
    • Regular Season Shield (2): 2019, 2022
  • Red River Cup
    • Champions (1): 2014
  • UPSL Central Conference-North Division
    • Champions (1): 2020
Year Honor
2013 South-Central Conference Champions
2014 South-Central Conference Champions
2014 South Region Runners-Up
2014 Red River Cup Champions
2019 Heartland Conference Shield
2019 Heartland Conference Champions
2019 South Region Runners-Up
2020 Central Conference-North Division Champions
2021 Heartland Conference Champions
2021 South Region Champions
2021 National Championship Runners-Up
2022 Heartland Conference Shield
2022 Heartland Conference Champions
2022 South Region Champions

Individual
Year Player Position Honor
2016 Dave Leung Forward Supporters' XI – First Team
2016 Terence Smith Defender Supporters' XI – Second Team
2017 Joe Garcia Midfielder South Region Best XI
2018 Damieon Thomas Forward Heartland Conference XI
2018 Declan Fitzpatrick Midfielder Heartland Conference XI
2019 Aboubakr Diallo Forward Heartland Conference XI
2019 Joseph Ruiz Midfielder Heartland Conference XI
2019 Gustavo Vargas Defender Heartland Conference XI
2019 Joey Ryan Manager Heartland Conference XI
2019 Joseph Ruiz Midfielder South Region XI
2019 Gustavo Vargas Defender South Region XI
2020 Santiago Riveros Midfielder UPSL Central Best XI
2020 Hunter Harrison Goalkeeper UPSL Central Best XI
2021 Aboubakr Diallo Forward Heartland Conference XI
2021 Joseph Garcia Midfielder Heartland Conference XI
2021 Joseph Ruiz Defender Heartland Conference XI
2021 Levi Coleman Manager Heartland Conference XI
2021 Levi Coleman Manager South Region XI
2021 Levi Coleman Manager National XI
2021 Levi Coleman Manager NPSL Coach of the Season
2022 Reed Berry Forward Heartland Conference XI
2022 Vinicius De Oliveira Midfielder Heartland Conference XI
2022 Joseph Ruiz Defender Heartland Conference XI
2021 Levi Coleman Manager Heartland Conference XI
2022 Joseph Ruiz Defender South Region XI

Records

References
  1. Ferguson, John D. (April 5, 2013). "Tulsa's new pro soccer team to play at Drillers Stadium". Tulsa World.
  2. Bewley, Dan (April 4, 2013). "National Premiere League Soccer Coming To Tulsa's Old Drillers Stadium". KOTV-DT.
  3. "Soccer: Tulsa Athletic release schedule". Tulsa World. Tulsa, OK: World Publishing Company. February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  4. "Athletics Win the First Annual Red River Cup". Tulsa Athletics. 5 May 2014.
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