On Saturday night the Tulsa Revolution arena (indoor) soccer team is hosting the Mexican National Indoor Soccer team in a “friendly” exhibition match at 7pm in the Cox Business Center arena. It is the unofficial start of the team’s second season.
Last season the Revolution limped to a 2-14 record in the PASL, and it goes without saying that the team is looking to put that disaster behind them. In the offseason the team gained some new players, the PASL merged with the Major Indoor Soccer League to form the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL), and first year head coach Michael Nsein was replaced by Dave Yates.
Camp started for the team in late September and included two exhibition games with the Dallas Sidekicks, and MASL divisional rival. On October 10th at the Revs Soccer City Tulsa training facility the teams battled to a 3-3 tie, with Michael Poneys scoring a pair of goals and former University of Tulsa standout Cristian Mata adding one tally.
Revolution readies for Mexican National Team
The Sidekicks scored late in the fourth quarter on a Jaime Lovegrove penalty kick to force the draw (tie). It was a different story last week as the Revolution traveled to Dallas to play in their building, and the Sidekicks handed them a 14-6 decision.
The final warmup for the Revolution before the season begins on the road in Wichita is the challenge of the Mexican National Indoor team. Head coach Dave Yates is confident that his team is coming out of camp with a great attitude and good chemistry.
Coach David Yates (left) with Rich Loham, Tulsa Today
“The preseason is going well for us,” Yates said “The boys are working hard. They have a lot of desire and a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Right now we have a collective group of 22 players in camp with several more looking to try out in the coming days and by the time the season rolls around we should have a competitive group on the pitch.”
Yates plans to provide Revolution fans with an exciting game, but is hesitant to give details on how the team is going to play. “Ultimately the game dictates how we have to play. It’s difficult to explain.” He said. “I’m trying to get away from creating an identity, I.E ‘this is how we want to play’. It all depends on the quality of the other team and how they play, the decisions made by both sets of players and things like that.”
The Major Arena Soccer League is made up of 23 teams in most of the major metropolitan areas of the United States, plus two cities in Mexico; Monterrey and Saltillo. The MASL is divided into four divisions; Eastern, Central, Southern and Pacific. Tulsa will play in the Central Division along with Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Missouri, and Wichita. The Revolution begin league play on November 8th when they travel Wichita to take on the B-52s in Hartmann Arena.
Kickoff for the Mexican National game will is 7pm on Saturday night. Tickets will be sold on a general admission basis for all sections in the Cox Business Center Arena; $10 for adults, $5 youth under-18. The theme for this game will be “Revolution Trunk or Treat Night.” Children are encouraged to wear costumes to the game, and there will be plenty of fun and candy that evening.
More information on the team and the MASL can be obtained by logging on to paslsoccer.com or the Tulsa Revolution website at tulsarevolution.pointstreaksites.com.
Photos by Greg Duke