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Roughnecks End Preseason with Victory

By USLSoccer.com Staff, 03/22/17, 7:32AM EDT

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Kondrakhin, Calistri find net in 2-0 win against Oklahoma Wesleyan


Photo courtesy Brooke Carroll / Tulsa Roughnecks FC

TULSA, Okla. – Tulsa Roughnecks FC wrapped up its preseason schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a 2-0 victory against Oklahoma Wesleyan University in a match that was played behind closed doors at ONEOK Field.  With the win, the Roughnecks end the preseason schedule with an undefeated 4-0-1 record.

The Roughnecks will open the USL regular season on Saturday night when they host Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in downtown Tulsa. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT.  

Tuesday's preseason finale got off to a quick start, as Tulsa opened the scoring in only the fourth minute. After a foul just outside the penalty area, Pasha Kondrakhin beautifully scored on a direct free kick with a curling, right-footed shot that put the Roughnecks in front.

Oklahoma Wesleyan found the back of the net in the 35th minute, but the assistant referee ruled the play offside to keep TRFC in front.

The Roughnecks doubled their lead in the 69th minute, just seconds after Head Coach David Vaudreuil made numerous changes to his lineup. Juan Caffa set up the goal with a 30 yard pass that hit Joey Calistri in full stride. The Chicago Fire loanee calmly settled the ball with his head before bending his shot past the keeper to make it 2-0. 

Two minutes later, Ian Svantesson almost made it a three-goal lead, but his shot on a breakaway was saved.

In the 84th minute, Calistri nearly netted a second goal, but his shot from the top of the box was saved by the keeper, and Svantesson's blast on the rebound caromed off the crossbar.

Oklahoma Wesleyan was unfortunate not to end the shutout in the final minutes. The Eagles struck the post in the 87th minute before hitting the crossbar on a free kick in stoppage time.

It is the first time that the Roughnecks have topped Oklahoma Wesleyan in three preseason meetings. The Eagles defeated the Roughnecks in 2015, TRFC's inaugural season. Last year, Tulsa scored two late goals to salvage a 2-2 draw.Vaudreuil was pleased with what he saw in Tuesday's outing.

"We got 60-70 minutes of action for guys who have played sparingly the last two matches," the Roughnecks Head Coach said. "It was a good tune up. The starters only played about 20 minutes, but they looked sharp against some good competition."

Vaudreuil also liked what he saw from the three new loan players that have recently arrived from the Fire. Calistri, Collin Fernandez and Matej Dekovic all saw substantial minutes in the outing.

"All three looked really good despite being here for less than a week," said Vaudreuil. "I expect to see a lot of them right away in this first weekend."

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