TULSA, Okla. — To open June, Louisville City FC went on the road and made a defeat at Atlanta United 2 its second straight.
What coach Danny Cruz said afterward: “There's zero doubt in my mind that this is going to be turned around.” What he didn’t mention: The boys in purple had just played absent two key pieces of their lineup.
With Cameron Lancaster and Jonathan Gomez back in the squad this road trip, both scored eye-catching goals amid a first half flurry in lifting LouCity to a 3-2 victory Saturday over FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field.
The win marked LouCity’s third straight victory following those consecutive losses — all of them since last Saturday, making for nine points earned over eight days. In turn, the result broke FC Tulsa’s seven-game home unbeaten streak dating back to last year.
"Difficult conditions — the field was very small, extremely hot, three games in one week — but I was so proud of the group,” Cruz said. “I told them at the end of the day, it’s about getting three points, and you have to be able to win games and grind games out, especially on the road. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Lancaster missed that Atlanta game resting a sore hamstring. The dual-national Gomez, since named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s preliminary roster for the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup, was away training with Mexico’s first team.
The duo has now contributed to goals in each of LouCity’s last three games — all wins — with the run boosting the boys in purple to a tie for first with games in hand in the USL Championship’s Central Division standings.
Lancaster banked in a second-minute olympico to open scoring, drilling one off the far post and in. He then both earned and scored on a penalty in the 10th minute.
In between those strikes, Gomez got in behind the defense and smashed a shot past the FC Tulsa goalkeeper for his first goal as a professional.
“We wrote it up beforehand," Lancaster said of his sterling first strike. "We had a look at the pitch, and we saw it was quite tight — quite narrow. We practiced it before, and Danny said why not give it a go for the first corner? We got the first corner pretty early in the game. I went for it, and thankfully it came off."
The hosts answered a scoring outburst for the boys in purple thanks to fancy 22nd-minute footwork in the box by forward Rodrigo da Costa, who sat down a LouCity defender and finished smoothly. FC Tulsa also hit side netting once more in the first half before continuing to push into the second.
Tulsa’s Marlon capitalized on a 55th-minute counter to bring the deficit to one. From there, a 57% possession split favoring the home side told the story of a lopsided second half that had LouCity on its heels.
"We just kind of took our foot off the gas," Gomez said. "We let them control the time at games. I think we needed to keep possession and, like Cam said, get that fourth goal."
The boys in purple did have chances to pad their lead. Midfielder Niall McCabe nearly converted an olympico of his own on a 54th-minute corner, and defender Wes Charpie’s header off a 65th-minute corner hit the bar and fell straight down. Charpie appealed, but the referee didn’t award a goal.
Chris Hubbard came up with five saves as LouCity salted away the final minutes and continued its hot streak on some tired legs. The club is next back in action Saturday, June 26, hosting rival Indy Eleven at Lynn Family Stadium.
“Ultimately," Cruz said, "we come away with three points with a group that absolutely grinded, and I’m really proud of them.”
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