PEORIA, Ariz. – Cristian Mata tallied a goal in each half to lead Tulsa Roughnecks FC to a 2-1 road victory against Arizona United SC on Saturday at the Peoria Sports Complex. With both teams in dire need of points at this stage of the season, Mata rose to the occasion for a Tulsa side that was without leading goal-scorer Sammy Ochoa who was serving a one-game suspension. Sandwiched in between Mata’s goals, Isaiah Schafer’s own goal put Arizona on the score sheet in the second half. Tulsa sweeps the season series against Arizona, having previously earned a 3-2 victory against Arizona on July 1 at ONEOK Field. Tulsa improves to 5-12-3 (18 points) overall and 2-6-2 on the road. Arizona falls to 5-8-6 (21 points) overall and 2-3-4 at home.

Scoring:
3’ – TUL – Cristian Mata
61’ – AZ – Isaiah Schafer (own goal)
90’+ – TUL – Cristian Mata

Three Things That Mattered:

• 1. Cristian Mata was the hero for Tulsa as he slotted home a stoppage-time goal to put his club up in the waning moments. Mata was certainly a nuisance to Arizona’s defense throughout the match, and he took full advantage when he had some space on the right side during this sequence to drive the ball past Arizona goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski. Approximately 17 minutes earlier, Mata thought he had his brace earlier in the 74th minute, but the officiating crew conferred that Mata was offside during that instance. He has three goals on the season.

• 2. Fresh off one of its best games of the season – a 3-0 win against Real Monarchs SLC – Arizona opened Saturday with a blunder it would obviously want back. The Roughnecks played a deep ball from midfield on their counter attack. Julian Ringhof tried to head the ball back to Woszczynski, but his thought process didn’t match the act. Instead, the ball popped up for the taking as Mata ran in and flick the ball into the right of the frame for a 1-0 Roughnecks lead in the third minute.

• 3. For the Roughnecks, they endured their own setback in the defensive third in the 61st minute. Arizona had shown some improvement in the early minutes of the second half getting into more dangerous attacking spots. Adam West crossed in from the left and the Roughnecks’ Isaiah Schafer was in position to make the clearance. He tried to clear with his right, but rather than boot the ball out of play, it caromed into the left of the net for an own goal as Arizona and Tulsa were tied at 1-1. It appeared as though the match was destined to end by that score line, but Mata and the Roughnecks found a final opportunity down the stretch for their second road win of the season.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match:
Cristian Mata, Tulsa Roughnecks FC – Mata scored both goals as he led a Roughnecks side that played without the services of leading goal-scorer Sammy Ochoa.

Upcoming Games:
Arizona United SC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – Aug. 3, 10:30 p.m. ET, Peoria Sports Complex
Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Orange County Blues FC – Aug. 4, 8:30 p.m. ET, ONEOK Field