Ocean State club returns to Centreville Bank Stadium to face Louisville City FC on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 p.m.
TULSA, Okla. (Aug. 29, 2026) – Rhode Island FC fell short in its first-ever trip to FC Tulsa on Saturday, suffering a narrow 1-0 loss at ONEOK Field. Although the Ocean State club out-shot and out-possessed the defending Western Conference champions through 90 minutes, a four-save performance from Tulsa goalkeeper Dane Jacomen was enough to hold onto an early lead and secure all three points for the hosts.
FC Tulsa (10W-I 6L-5T) got on the board early, opening the scoring in the eighth minute with a well-worked team move in the 18-yard box. The Scissortails began the move on the right wing, quickly swinging it into the box with a series of quick passes that eventually found the feet of Jeorgio Kocevski. Kocevski floated into the box and played a give-and-go sequence with Remi Cabral, getting on the end of the move and slotting a low shot across the face of goal to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead.
Rhode Island FC (8W-8L-4T) nearly got on the board in the 26th minute when Amos Shapiro-Thompson played a dangerous free kick short and low to Leo Afonso. Afonso got on the end of the ball in the box and struck it quickly on the turn, but his shot was blocked by a Tulsa defender at the last moment. Five minutes later, Jojea Kwizera found open space in the midfield and launched a curling shot from distance, forcing Tulsa goalkeeper Jacomen to punch the ball over the bar for his first save of the night.
Although RIFC began to up the pressure coming out of the halftime break, goalkeeper Koke Vegas made a pair of important saves in quick succession to keep the Ocean State club in the game early in the half. The shot-stopper got down low to palm away Jamie Webber’s long-range effort in the 50th minute, before making himself big to turn away Kalil ElMedkhar’s close-range diving header four minutes later.
RIFC came closest to an equalizer in the 82nd minute when Grant Stoneman connected with a curling free kick in the box, getting over his defender and redirecting the ball on frame with his shoulder. The effort seemed destined for the top corner until Jacomen scooped it away with a full-stretch diving save, launching a quick counter-attack for the hosts.
Moving quickly down the other way, Webber noticed Vegas off of his line and attempted an ambitious long-range chip from inside his own half, but Vegas got back in time to knock the shot out of danger.
Although RIFC made a spirited push forward in stoppage time, and controlled the statsheet with a 13-8 advantage in shots through 90 minutes, it could not do enough to get past a strong performance from Jacomen, who made four saves to seal a 1-0 win for the Scissortails.
Up next, RIFC will return to Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 5 to host Louisville City FC at 7:30 p.m. ET for Military Appreciation Night. Tickets to the next home game are available now at rhodeislandfc.com/tickets.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
TUL – Jeorgio Kocevski (Remi Cabral), 8th minute: Kocevski finishes a quick passing sequence with a low finish into the bottom-left corner. TUL 1, RI 0
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
- Stas Korzeniowski made his Rhode Island FC debut, coming in as a second-half substitute in the 58th minute. He finished his debut with two shots on four touches inside Tulsa’s box.
- Eric Klein made his first career start for Rhode Island FC in his third appearance for the club.
- Rhode Island FC controlled the statsheet with a 12-8 advantage in shots and controlled 59 percent possession, forcing four saves from FC Tulsa goalkeeper Dane Jacomen.
- Jojea Kwizera led the all players with three shots, all of which were on target.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Frank Nodarse
Game stats and information available here.
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