Prince Saydee moves the ball upfield in Saturday night’s USL Championship loss to Tulsa. (Photo courtesy Hartford Athletic)
TULSA, Oklahoma, July 15, 2023 – The Hartford Athletic added another bitter chapter to their 2023 campaign on Saturday night.
The Athletic dropped their sixth straight USL Championship match when Tulsa’s Phillip Goodrum scored the game-winner goal in stoppage time to lift Tulsa to a 3-2 victory at ONEOK Field.
It’s the fourth time this season that Hartford (2-13-4) has seen points slip away with last-second goals from the opposition. It happened twice against Charleston and against Birmingham in April with the Athletic giving up a goal in extra time.
Twice, Hartford erased one-goal deficits and seemed on the verge of gaining a point with a tie against Tulsa (6-7-7).
But with less than a minute left in stoppage time, Tulsa’s Collin Fernandez chipped a pass over two Hartford defenders in the penalty box to the foot of Goodrum, who quickly blasted a one-touch shot past Hartford goalie Richard Sanchez.
It was the second goal of the game for the unmarked Goodrum and his fifth of the season. The win extended Tulsa’s season-best winning streak to four games while Hartford dropped their sixth straight contest. The Athletic are 0-7-2 in their last nine games.
Hartford tied the game at 1-1 early in the first half on a pretty goal from Eliva Amoh. After a series of corner kicks that had nothing come of them, Hartford was awarded a throw-in in the 24th minute. Defender Matt Sheldon threw the ball into the box, Elvis Amoh outjumped the opposition and headed the ball into the far corner.
Ten minutes later, Tulsa forward Moses Dyer won possession in the attacking third. Falling away from the goal, he crossed the ball in front of the Hartford net. Goodrum got a clean head on the ball, pushing it into the net. The ball fell just out of reach of the Sánchez’s outstretched arms.
Hartford caught a break when Tulsa tied the game at 2-2 with an own goal in the second half. In the 60th minute, defender Edgardo Rito made a run up the right sideline and crossed it into the Tulsa box. Before a Hartford forward could get a cleat on it, Tulsa defender Rashid Tetteh knocked the ball into his own net, tying the game.
The Athletic had two good chances late in the game. Goalie Michael Nelson deflected a hard head ball away in the 82nd minute and a minute later, Tulsa defender Michael Ferry deflected another hard head ball shot away from the net to keep the game tied at 2-2.
Tulsa 3, Hartford 2
At Tulsa, Okla.
Hartford (2-13-4) 1 1 — 2
Tulsa (6-7-7) 2 1 — 3
Goals: Tulsa — 13’ – Epps (Bird), 35’ – Goodrum (Dyer), 90 + 5’ – Goodrum (Fernandez); Hartford — 24’ – Amoh (Sheldon), 60’ – Tetteh (Own Goal); Saves: Richard Sánchez (H) 2, Michael Nelson (T) 2; Corner kicks: Hartford, 10-2; Shots: Tulsa 17-4; Shots on target: Tulsa 5-4
Starting lineups
HARTFORD ATHLETIC — 1 (GK) Richard Sánchez, 5 (DF) Triston Hodge, 22 (DF) Robin Lapert, 28 (MF) Conor McGlynn, 16 (DF) Matt Sheldon (Kibato, 66’); 72 (DF) Edgardo Rito, 77 (MF) Andre Lewis (Edwards, 66’); 8 (MF) Juan Pablo Torres (Merrill, 78’); 10 (MF) Danny Barrera, 9 (FW) Elvis Amoh (Apollon, 88’); 7 (FW) Prince Saydee
FC TULSA — 24 (GK) Michael Nelson, 30 (DF) Adam Armour, 4 (DF) Ruxi, 12 (DF) Rashid Tetteh, 3 (DF) Justin Malou (Haji, 86’); 48 (MF) Eric Bird (Pearson, 79’); 5 (MF) Tommy McCabe (Ferri, 66’); 20 (FW) Milo Yosef, 7 (FW) Marcus Epps (Fernandez, 66’); 77 (FW) Moses Dyer, 10 (FW) Phillip Goodrum
