Sports editor Jaralynn Tammi Morellano says the Golden Hurricane had a scare in the first half.
The University of Tulsa’s men’s soccer team broke its overwhelming four-game losing streak on Friday when it was able to inch its way towards a narrow 2-1 victory against its conference opponent, Florida Atlantic. This victory gave the Golden Hurricane its first conference win of the season to put its record 1-2-0 with an overall record of 2-7-1. This would put the Owls down, earning its second conference loss to put its conference record 0-2-1 with a 2-4-3 overall standing.
“We didn’t quit, we kept pushing for the goal,” Tulsa head coach Tom McIntosh said. “I think this team has been through a lot of adversity, but like I told them today, we still have a ton of belief in them. They haven’t pointed fingers. It’s a tremendous group. I’m just happy for them — happy for them to get the win.”
Despite its impressive win, the Golden Hurricane was hit with deja vu when its opponent, once again, was able to find the net within the first 10 minutes of the game. However, a flag was called prior to the shot and after review, the goal was taken away, and Tulsa was able to relax and fight on. The shining star on Tulsa’s defensive wall was goalkeeper Alex Lopez, who made five exciting saves within this first half. The Golden Hurricane only went toe-to-toe with FAU’s goalkeeper twice, both attempts not bearing any points for Tulsa. Both teams were at a standstill for the entire half.
Gijs Hovius, a threat on Tulsa’s offense who has been out for injury, earned his team the lead in the early minutes of the second half. Alvaro Torrijos was able to turn the ball over in the center of the field and play it out to Nils Oryowol on the left side. Oryowol took it all the way to the end and sent a cross to the right side where Hovious would maneuver into the ball’s path to send the ball to the near post. His shot beat the keeper to the net and Tulsa was up 1-0.
“Gijs has been out all season, so it was great to get him back out in front of the goal,” McIntosh said. “We know he’s a great goal scorer, so to get him back is fantastic. It was great to see him score and we’re super happy for him.”
The lead would not hold strong, FAU scoring the equalizer in the 64th minute. Noah Kivte of Florida Atlantic was able to make a perfect play to Mamdou Diarra, who tapped it right past a rushing Lopez.
Tulsa, who has not been so close to victory in a while, refused to let the game slip past its fingertips and continued to fight on. It pressured the Owls until the very end, sending a flurry of shots in the last few minutes.
Alex Cunningham was close to a shot in the 86th minute when he blasted a low shot. However, an amazing save was made by FAU goalkeeper Nacho Alfaro.
Just down to the wire, Lopez played the ball out to his defense. Luke Admas was able to play the ball to Camilo Vargas, who went on a one-on-one challenge with a defender to earn possession. He sent it to Yuki Sekiguchi, who was able to send out a cross with seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately for FAU, its defense would intercept this cross with an arm in the box.
FAU would fight this call, and after a lengthy review and multiple cards being presented to FAU’s bench, Tulsa would take the penalty kick. Vargas would smash this kick into the net to put Tulsa on top 2-1.
The Golden Hurricane has finally found the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel of losses and ties. Fans can only hope this is the start of an uplifting comeback. Tulsa will continue on to host Central Arkansas on Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.
