Tulsa Roughnecks FC early season frustrations continued Saturday night at ONEOK Field with a 2-0 loss to the Austin Aztex before a crowd of 5,067.  The defeat was the second straight shutout loss for the Roughnecks who have one point after three matches this season.

 

The result was frustrating because Tulsa controlled play for much of the match, out-shooting Austin 22-11 and leading in corners 11-3.

 

Oscar Jimenez takes a free kick during Tulsa's 2-0 loss to Austin Saturday night at ONEOK Field.  (Rich Crimi)

 

With five changes to the squad that started the first two games of the season, the Roughnecks started the game quickly, but missed opportunities proved costly. The first chance came in a ninth minute flurry when a trio of shots failed to produce an opening goal. Shots from Eli Galbraith-Knapp and Oscar Jimenez were saved before a final attempt from Sammy Ochoa went wide of goal.

 

A corner kick for Tulsa in the 21st minute produced a chance for Gibson Bardsley, but his header missed just wide.

 

One minute later, the Aztex opened the scoring against the run of play. Kris Tyrpak got behind defender Mason Grimes and dribbled around keeper Zac Lubin. His soft shot rolled between the legs of Grimes and settled softly into the net to put Austin in front 1-0.

 

The score line remained the same as the two teams headed to the locker rooms at half time.

 

After the break, the Roughnecks again started quickly with three corner kicks in the first five minutes of the second half as Bardsley and Ochoa caused problems for the backline of the Aztex.

 

For the second time in two matches, Bardsley had a goal waved off. In the 51st minute, he controlled a long ball and beat keeper Devin Perales but the assistant referee's flag was up for offside, keeping the Roughnecks off the scoreboard.

 

The Aztex took advantage of the pressure from the Roughnecks to net a second goal on a counter attack in the 66th minute, and again it was Tyrpak inflicting the damage. The forward found space on the left side and buried a blast from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net to make it 2-0.

 

The final quarter of the match featured constant pressure from the Roughnecks, but no goals.

 

Perales was credited with 13 saves in the game, running Tulsa's scoreless streak to 209 minutes.

 

After three games in eight days to open the season, the Roughnecks will now have 11 days off before returning to the pitch. Tulsa will host Seattle Sounders 2 on April 16 at ONEOK Field.