Tulsa, Oklahoma, will be the site of the USL Championship final on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 12 p.m. Eastern as FC Tulsa will host the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at ONEOK Field, and you can catch all the action on CBS. No matter what happens, a new champion will be crowned as neither team has ever won the USL Championship title, and the youngest coach ever will also win the USL title, no matter the victor. Pittsburgh Riverhounds interim manager Rob Vincent is only 35, while FC Tulsa’s manager Luke Spencer is one year younger at 34. The youngest coach to ever win the USL Championship is Juan Guerra, who won with Phoenix Rising in 2023 at 36 years, eight months and 37 days old. But that’s where the similarities between these two end.
How to watch FC Tulsa vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, odds
- Date: Nov. 22 | Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Location: ONEOK Field — Tulsa, Oklahoma
- TV: CBS
- Odds: FC Tulsa +120; Draw +210; Pittsburgh Riverhounds +220
The Riverhounds have been led by interim coach Vincent due to Bob Lilley being placed on administrative leave for reasons which are not publicly known at this time. Vincent took over less than 24 hours before the Indy Eleven game on Oct. 11 and led the Hounds to a 2-1 victory, securing a playoff berth. Fast forward to his seventh game in charge, and they have a chance to win a trophy while having already accomplished something that Lilley hasn’t done with Pittsburgh — win a playoff game with the club.
Despite leading the Riverhounds to a playoff spot in every season since he was hired in 2017 and becoming one of the most notable and respected coaches in the league, Lilley has lacked playoff success with the squad, and now in a time where the team have needed to come together, they could be on the verge of history, but they’ll need to topple a team which wasn’t expected to be here in order to do that.
FC Tulsa may have been a surprise entry to win the Western Conference, but with one of the best defenses in the league, they’ve been tough to score on while bringing opportunistic finishing to their stadium to get here. This club has had one of the biggest turnarounds in the entire League, going from finishing 10th last season to now being the best team in the West.
Danny Cruz of Louisville City may have won the coach of the year award, but Spencer has done nothing short of impressive this season while leading a revamped roster, and they can taste glory in front of their home fans with another sellout crowd in Oklahoma. Spencer did acknowledge that this Pittsburgh team has evolved under Vincent and will be a force to face. These two teams have met five times, with Pittsburgh winning three matches and two ending in a draw, but Pittsburgh will know that everything goes out the window in a final.
“I did see a comment from someone on social media who said they were a fan with the Roughnecks they lost love, lost that connection with the team, but it wasn’t until recently during the playoffs and the type of game and the atmosphere that they fell back in love with the team again and that they’re committed so when you hear stories like that, it’s incredibly meaningful because that’s what it’s about,” Spencer said.
A team on the rise
Going from missing the playoffs to first in the West isn’t something that happens overnight, but for Tulsa, it almost feels like it has. Of course, things are easier when you know where the goals are coming from, and in 23-year-old Taylor Calheira, that question is easy to answer. He has 21 goals and four assists in all competitions and has made a massive impact on the Scissortails since signing with the club during the offseason from New York City FC.
He has been one of the many changes to happen to this team in the offseason, helping create a unit in the Western Conference. FC Tulsa hasn’t allowed a goal in 603 minutes at home and will look to keep that streak going while hosting the Riverhounds.
This club has a long history in soccer, initially beginning in Tulsa with the Roughnecks in 1978, who won the North American Soccer League in 1983. This iteration of Tulsa were founded in December of 2013 before changing their name in 2019 ahead of the 2020 season. As with most changes, some fans struggled to connect to the new identity, but with record crowd after record crowd, that is beginning to change during this championship run.
“It’s been amazing to see the support around the team grow,” Spencer said. “I think it’s been really rewarding considering we started the year talking about that being a goal of ours, wanting to get the community involved, wanting to get people out to games and not only have people come out to the games but to be passionate about it, to be excited to go to the games and then waking away with a feeling of pride. Saying that’s our team, they represent us and the city of Tulsa, and being proud of that fact. It’s really rewarding to see that we’ve gotten to that point, considering that we began talking about that back in January.”
Lifting a trophy would be a perfect way to cap that off, and while FC Tulsa are taking this as just another match, it’s also hard to avoid the occasion coming in.
We keep the same process. I know it’s a final. But we have to stay the same, same process, same training session, same video review,” Defender Abdoulaye Cissoko said. “And I think that’s, that’s the secret to win the final, stay the same, say ourselves and not try to play a role.”
For a team with so many new parts coming into the season, despite the occasion, it’s almost like the pressure is on Pittsburgh. Both clubs may be in a final,l looking to win their first trophy, but for Tulsa, coming so far in one season is something to celebrate. This isn’t to say that they don’t want to win, but it’s important to play with freedom and treat this as another day, even with the gravity of the occasion facing them.
Not letting turmoil get in the way
With a head coaching change at such a critical point of the season, it would be easy for Pittsburgh to fold under pressure and not perform in the playoffs despite having a successful season, but they did just the opposite. Knowing who they were as a team already and having a familiar face like Vincent taking over made the transition easy, and it’s something that Pittsburgh native, midfielder Robbie Mertz, reflected on ahead of the final.
“Yeah, I think that there are, there are a lot of elements. I mean, obviously, it didn’t happen until three weeks ago in the season. So things were really wrapping up at that point anyway. And I think we knew who we were as a group. We knew what our identity was, what we were, what our strengths were, what our weaknesses were,” Mertz said.
“And so I think it was sort of, you know, of course, there were tweaks that we made here and there, but for the most part, it was leaning into the stuff that we knew already about our group. And I think we were able to kind of double down on that and gain some momentum doing those things as we entered the playoffs. And that’s really been what’s gotten us to this point.”
Mertz and the midfield have been able to control games, helping produce a strong team defense, which has only allowed one goal in their current playoff run. Pittsburgh has also only scored one goal in the playoffs, but that hasn’t been an issue with goalkeeper Eric Dick and the defense also being well prepared. The old saying that “Defense wins championships” will ring true no matter who wins.
The Steel Army have been able to take the entire journey from home, being able to cheer their team on, but for the first time in the playoffs, they’ll need to go on the road into a hostile environment, but that won’t deter them. This is also a chance for them to join the rich history of Pittsburgh sports, which has seen every major sports team win a championship except the Riverhounds. Despite the noise off the field, the goal is simple.
“I think there’s a path forward for the Riverhounds to become a powerhouse. And it has been right like, I mean, they’ve made the playoffs,” Dick said. “We’ve made the playoffs for a long time in this league, but I think we want to take that next step, and to take the next step is to bring home a championship.”
Being such a successful team during the regular season, taking this next step is critical to the Riverhounds. Despite being a first-time head coach, Vincent is ready for that, but it doesn’t mean that he hasn’t needed to make adjustments since taking over.
“I think, you know, the biggest thing, the biggest adjustment initially, is you have to be kind of on it completely daily. You know you’re the voice that all the players here, obviously, you know, as an assistant coach, you’re still planning training, you’re still talking with players every day, but yeah, as the head coach, it’s your voice that they’re kind of really looking to and listening to,” Vincent said. “So you have to, again, give them the right message each day, keep them motivated, keep them in a good head space, and then, yeah, obviously, you know, try and prepare them as best as we can for games.
“So, thankfully, so far, we’ve been on a good run of form. The guys have been great to me. I think they understood that it was kind of a different situation for all of us, an unexpected situation,” he continued. “But yeah, I think everybody’s pulled together, and clearly it’s got us this far. We just feel like we have one more step to go, and everyone’s ready for it.”
Those adjustments have worked well, and of course, they’re easier to make while winning and having an experienced side. Now, Pittsburgh will need to complete their journey while facing a team who also won’t want to lose on Saturday.
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