Tulsa Comeback Bid Falls Short to No. 15 Louisville

Wednesday, August 28

Tulsa, Okla.

7:00 PM

Tulsa

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Louisville

2-0-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Louisville	2	0	2
Tulsa	1	0	1

Photo by: Dave Crenshaw

Tulsa Comeback Bid Falls Short to No. 15 Louisville

8/28/2024 10:04:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

TULSA,Okla. – The Golden Hurricane had the better opportunities in the second half in Thursday evening's home opener but could not find the equalizer as Tulsa fell 2-1 to No. 15 Louisville at the Hurricane Soccer Stadium.

The Cardinals (2-0-0) scored twice in the game's opening 30 minutes to jump ahead 2-0. Just before the break, Tulsa (0-2-0) scored its first game of the season. Freshman Ian Belong got on the end of a Larsen Rogers cross and put a curling effort toward goal. The shot deflected off defender Wes Bottenburg and nestled in the corner of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Tulsa outshot Louisville 8-4 in the second period with a 2-1 advantage in corners. However, neither team put the ball away and the score remained in the visitor's favor.

How it Happened
Louisville got on the board just over 10 minutes into the match. Sander Roed took possession of a turnover at midfield. He took a pair of touches before smashing a driven long ball over a retreating Alex Lopez to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

It was another fantastic goal that doubled the advantage in the 27^th. Gage Guerra received a pass from Leon Kondic and quickly got the ball on his right foot for a rocket from 25 yards out to the roof of the net.

Tulsa wouldn't go down without a fight. With a little under a minute remaining in the half, Rogers got the ball on the left wing and got to the endline before playing a bouncing cross across the box. Belong read it perfectly and settled before hitting a left-footed shot that proceeded to deflect off Bottenburg and past a diving goalkeeper to give Tulsa some life heading into the break.

TU had a few chances in the second half to level the score. In the 67^th minute, Clement Badger got on the end of a volley 15 yards out. He hit it as clean as one would want, but the powerful effort smashed off the right post and went harmlessly out for a goal kick. Minutes later, Gyuwon Chong fired an effort over the bar from 10 yards out on the right side.

For his part, Lopez made a pair of nice saves in the second half to give the Hurricane a chance. He denied earlier goalscorer Roed a second in the 60^th minute, parrying away a stinging effort from the corner of the box on the right side.

Despite a late push, Tulsa was unable to overcome the early hole and fell to 0-2 on the season.

Game Notes

TU falls to 0-3 against the Cardinals all-time.
Wes Bottenburg scored his first goal of the season and fourth of his career.
Larsen Rogers collected his first assist as a Hurricane.
Ian Belong tallied his first assist for TU

Scoring Summary
Louisville 2 0 - 2
Tulsa 1 0 - 1

Individual Scoring
Sander Roed (Louisville) at 10:03
Gage Guerra (Louisville) at 26:12 – Assist (Leon Kondic)
Wes Bottenburg (Tulsa) at 44:08 – Assist (Ian Belong and Larsen Rogers)

Goalkeeper Saves
Alex Lopez (Tulsa) – 3
Harvey Sellers (Louisville) – 4