The Tulsa Roughnecks first stepped onto the soccer field at Skelly Stadium in 1978 as a club in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The franchise rose under coaches Charlie Mitchell, who played on the original team, and Terry Hennessey, who’d take the team to a 17-13 record and a Southern Division title in 1983. The championship game that year would give the Roughnecks and the city of Tulsa its first major league sports title: 1983 Soccer Bowl Champions. Unfortunately, 1984 would be the club’s last year in the NASL. Luckily for Tulsans, the arrival of a soccer club in the United Soccer League (USL) was announced in 2013, and to honor to the original ’78 team, the club chose the name Tulsa Roughnecks FC. Its inaugural season kicked off March 21 as the Roughnecks FC stepped onto ONEOK Field in orange. The 2015 season will continue through September, and this month, they’ll take on Orange County, July 9; Colorado Springs, July 11; and Vancouver, July 31, all games starting at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.tulsaroughnecksfc.com.
