Mark Briggs rolled the dice this week with a heavy lineup rotation as well as a different formation. It worked out pretty well in what became a master class in defensive soccer. The Three Sparks were pounded with a massive 27 shots. Of those only 3 were on target. 8 were off target and an impressive 16 were blocked. That last is the most by any team this year and a club record. Moreover, 12 of them were inside the 18 and 3 even inside the 6. With all of that Tulsa is 3rd overall in shooting with 36 but 22nd (of 34) in conversion rate. The Legion in contrast is 19th in shooting and its conversion rate is 6th overall. The Three Sparks are also tied for 2nd in scoring (Tulsa is 14th equal). That’s quite something.
GK: FERNANDO DELGADO – 9. This was Fernando’s second win as a starter (he won against Miami just over a year ago) and it was impressive. He put up two huge saves and even made a clearance and won a duel. He is our Man of the Match.
LB: JAKE RUFE – 7. Jake was listed as left back but he and Erik did the switcheroo thing again. 3 tackles, 4 clearances, 2 blocks and 1 interception. 6 of 14 duels won and amazingly only 39 passes attempted (for a weak 74.4% accuracy rate).
CB: TIAGO SUAREZ – 7. Tiago recorded 1 tackle, 4 clearances, 3 blocks and 1 interception along with winning 6 of his 8 duels. A decent 78.1% completion rate on 32 passes.
CB: PHANUEL KAVITA – 7. Phanny made 3 tackles, 6 clearances and 2 blocks. He won all 6 of his duels and failed to connect on just 2 of his 39 passes. Off to Algeria with Rwanda (they play Thursday 11:00am).
RB: ERIK CENTENO – 7. Erik got 4 tackles, 3 clearances and 1 block while winning 5 of 8 duels. 92.3% accurate on 26 passes.
LDM: EDWIN LASZO – 8. Back in his old stomping grounds Edwin managed to get no card despite committing 3 fouls and being generally a pain for his former teammates. 1 tackle, 3 blocks and 3 interceptions and he won 6 of 13 duels. 1 scoring chance created and good on 42 of 54 passing attempts.
RDM: SAM MCILLHATTON – 6.5. Sam was given a short rest late in the game but in 87 minutes he logged 2 tackles, 1 clearance and 1 block. 4 for 8 in duels and went 28 of 33 in passing. He got a yellow card for a clear foul.
LW: PRESTON TABORT ETAKA – 5.5. Preston contributed to the defense with a block and had one blocked himself. He also sent in 2 unsuccessful crosses. On the other hand, he lost all 5 of his duels and made just 7 passes, connecting on 3. He also got a yellow. Subbed out after 70 minutes.
CM: ENZO MARTINEZ – 8. Enzo got a block of course, and also made 3 tackles, 1 clearance and 1 interception. He won a substantial 6 foul calls too while winning 9 of 11 duels. A warrior. He had 1 shot off target (the only first half attempt).
RW: SEBASTIAN TREGARTHEN – 8. Seba committed 4 fouls but was not carded. He was also pretty active in defense (1 tackle, 2 clearances, 1 block and 3 interceptions. He had 1 shot blocked but the other one…just wow. Rested right after it.
FWD: RONALDO DAMUS – 7. Was Ronaldo fouled in the box? It looked more like a dive, to be honest, but hey, the legion was way overdue for a good call. 1 other shot on target. He even made a clearance and was taken off with 10 minutes left in regulation.
SUB: ROMAN TORRES – 7. Roman came on in the 69th minute and amazingly did very little stat-worthy other than creating a scoring chance.
SUB: DANNY TREJO – 7. Danny came on with Roman and played largely a defensive role, making 1 tackle and 1 clearance. You do what you need to.
SUB: TYLER PASHER – 8. On in the 70th minute and did his usual nightmare-inducing stuff on the Tulsa defense. 2 shots off target and perfect on 9 passes.
SUB: KAMERON LACEY – 7. Kameron’s first Legion appearance was just 15 minutes. Attack wasn’t really the objective at that point but he still created a chance. He also put up a tackle.
SUB: TEMI EREKU – 7. In just 8 minutes in his first appearance in a while Temi made a block. That’s it but it’s still important.
HEAD COACH: MARK BRIGGS – 8. Back-to-back wins for the first time since June 26th last year. Mark was not overly happy with his team’s performance but he got the gritty victory with a necessarily rotated lineup.
