FC Tulsa’s matchup against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks Saturday marks the city’s first playoff soccer game since the Tulsa Roughnecks won the North American Soccer League championship Oct. 1, 1983 — 42 years ago.
“Ask me what I did yesterday, I couldn’t tell you,” said Victor Moreland, captain of the 1983 Tulsa Roughnecks. “Ask me what I did back then, I could tell you everything.”
Moreland remembers being greeted by thousands of Tulsans at the airport after the Roughnecks returned from Vancouver following their 2-0 win in the 1983 Soccer Bowl against the Toronto Blizzard. He also recalls the ensuing downtown parade and then-Mayor Jim Inhofe handing the keys to the city to the ownership group.
“We had a great following. We were doing anywhere between 17,000 — and when the big teams came in — 25,000 people,” Moreland said. “Skelly Stadium was packed.”
But after the 1984 season, the NASL folded. Professional soccer did not return to the U.S. until Major League Soccer debuted in 1993, but the Roughnecks had already left their mark on Tulsa.
The University of Tulsa’s soccer program — now one of the most successful in the country — debuted in 1980. Oral Roberts University established their Division I soccer program in 1988. Youth competitive clubs started up across town in the 1990s, including the Tulsa Nationals Soccer Club, which Moreland founded.
As FC Tulsa’s winning season progressed, players, staff and fans alike have felt excitement around the club grow. With a 16-9-5 record, FC Tulsa sat atop of the United Soccer League Championship’s Western Conference standings for 15 consecutive weeks.
“Obviously, success brings excitement. Success also brings people. People don’t say, ‘Oh, let’s go and watch our team lose,’” said Serbian midfielder Stefan Lukic. “Us having a culture of winning helped a lot. In recent weeks when we score a goal, it’s electric.”
However, team staff are still determining how to light the same fire Tulsans had for the Roughnecks back in the 1980s.
“We’ve heard stories of the Roughnecks and thousands of fans gathering to watch the Roughnecks play. That’s been talked about: trying to reignite that passion, reignite the fans and the people within the community to create that type of atmosphere,” said head coach Luke Spencer. “Not only that type of atmosphere but that feeling and that passion for a team from Tulsa.”
Caleb Sewell, FC Tulsa’s sporting director and general manager, credited the club’s ownership — especially the Craft family — for connecting the team with the city’s soccer history.
“We definitely don’t neglect that, because that’s what people in this city know, and it’s very famous here. We welcome that kind of history to where we’re at,” Sewell said of the Roughnecks.
Now, Tulsa is trying to bring that history into the present. The city threw its hat in the ring for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup next summer, and the club’s training facility, the Ascension St. John’s SportsPlex, was included in FIFA’s team base camp brochure highlighting potential host sites for national teams.
Sewell has already spoken with officials from two national teams about using the SportsPlex, which he called a validation of the quality of the city’s facilities. Selections are expected to be revealed in early 2026.
While American football has the hearts of Tulsans, Spencer sees potential to “sway people the other way” to see soccer’s entertainment value, especially at ONEOK Field in downtown.
That theory may be proving out. By Tuesday night, nine sections sold out ahead of Saturday’s match, which is set to start just 30 minutes after Oklahoma and Tennessee kick off on ABC.
‘It’s been a huge 180’
While FC Tulsa now aspires to repeat its 1983 championship win, expectations surrounding the club were not high heading into this season.
After placing 10th out of 12 in the USL Western Conference last season, FC Tulsa shuffled staff. In November 2024, the club promoted Spencer from assistant to head coach. Then in January, the club hired Sewell from Memphis 901 FC to lead the club’s front office.
Steve Lozano, a member of 83 United, an FC Tulsa fan club that chants and sings at home matches, said it’s been a quick turnaround.
“It’s been a huge 180,” said Lozano, who attended every home match in the season despite the club’s poor play. “Now, here we are. We are number one in the Western Conference. It’s beautiful.”
Prior to the season kickoff, Sewell met with fan groups that were skeptical about the team’s potential.
“I think when we voiced our vision, people didn’t believe us,” Sewell said. “I don’t think anyone can say (they predicted) we’re going to finish first, but the fact that we’ve done that, I think, is just a byproduct of the vision we had.”
Despite all the talk surrounding Tulsa’s playoff drought and whether FC Tulsa could be hoisting the USL Championship trophy in three weeks, the entire club — from players and coaching staff to the front office — is solely focused on the present.
“This group walks around with a chip on its shoulder because no one else believed in us. I think that’s well known,” starting goalkeeper Johan Peñaranda told fans during a Tuesday pep rally at McNellie’s Pub. “We’re really excited for Saturday night to give you something to be proud of.”
Editor’s note: Victor Moreland coached reporter Joe Tomlinson at Tulsa Nationals Soccer Club from 2011 to 2017.
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