When the NPSL notified us that they wanted us to choose a match to sponsor, we couldn’t have landed a more perfect match than the 2018 NPSL Heartland Conference Semifinal between Little Rock Rangers SC (Home) and Tulsa Athletic (Away). Not only because it was a great match, but because one of our staff, Ryan Stallings, is one of the principal guys in the Little Rock Rangers’ supporters group, The Red Watch. So Ryan sat down and wrote about his memories of this season, offering you, the reader, a preview from the eyes of a guy who went to the match. The bad blood between the clubs, the struggle of Rangers against Tulsa, the set up to the playoff match, it’s all there. Enjoy.

- Dan

On Wednesday, July 11th, 2018, the evening air in Little Rock is thick. The inescapable humidity of a city built on the banks of the Arkansas River in the American South blends with the fevered anticipation of thousands of Little Rock Rangers SC supporters and settles over War Memorial Stadium in the heart of the city. Tonight, the home side’s fans have good reason for their nervous excitement. After steady improvement since their founding in 2016, the Rangers are hosting a postseason match for the first time in the club’s three-year history. To further raise the intrigue of the game, and more deeply engage the passions of the supporters, Little Rock’s opponent tonight is none other than their now all-too-familiar Heartland Conference foe, the Tulsa Athletic.

Tulsa Athletic is the elder statesman on the pitch tonight. Formed in 2013, the Oklahoma-based club has forged a path and example of developing community identity, on-pitch performance, and match-day support equal to the likes of lower league, grassroots counterparts Detroit City FC and Chattanooga FC. Taking on the task of renovating an old minor league baseball stadium themselves, club staff and volunteers developed a pitch, stadium, and gameday experience that regularly drew over three thousand fans to every home game for the Athletic from 2013-2016. The club would reward their loyal fanbase following through those seasons, winning the then-South Central Conference outright in three of those four years. When the city of Tulsa then wrested away this grassroots-developed home ground in an ill fated attempt to develop a motocross park, the Athletic weathered the inconvenience. First, they found a temporary home pitch for 2017 in Fortuna Stadium. Then, ahead of the 2018 season, they developed a pitch at Veterans Park, adjacent to downtown Tulsa. This home ground would serve to become a literal Party in the Park for the Athletic, creating there a near unshakeable home-pitch advantage and helping sustain another qualification run to the 2018 NPSL postseason.

Tulsa was in its 4th season when the Little Rock Rangers were admitted to the league as an expansion side in 2016. Like Tulsa before them, the Rangers found immediate support from the local community and quickly ascended to the top of the lower league ranks in average attendance. Unlike Tulsa’s inaugural year on-pitch successes however, Little Rock struggled in its inductive conference campaign, losing their first six matches before righting their course late in the season and eventually falling shy of playoff qualification by a single point to fellow league newcomer Shreveport Rafters. Curious among the statistics of Little Rock’s freshman season losses: a pair of narrow 1-0 defeats to dominant conference champion Tulsa Athletic.

The commencement of 2017 campaign found both the Athletic and the Rangers more focused on other rivals. FC Wichita was openly seeking to wrest the conference crown from Tulsa’s near stranglehold, while Little Rock contended with a newly formed, in-state little brother in Ozark FC. By the time the Athletic visited the Rangers at mid-season however, it had become clear that Little Rock was a legitimate title contender alongside Tulsa and Wichita, and a victory over the former would seat them ahead of both clubs. That victory wasn’t to be, as Tulsa eked out a 1-1 draw in the Rock City. Some stumbling in further results by each club found them facing off in a regular season finale in Tulsa. But now, FC Wichita had secured the conference title, but the winner here would still secure the #2 seed and host a playoff match. The loser would be #3 seed and have to play the visitor just four days later. In a high flying competition, Tulsa would emerge victorious over the Rangers, 3-2, in a match that was near statistically identical but for the single goal differential. Four days later, Little Rock would return to compete in its first playoff game in club history for another statistical battle with the Athletic, again falling by the difference of one goal. Little Rock was now winless against Tulsa in five matches, but were now earning recognition from the older club as a legitimate rival.If the late season results versus Tulsa had given the Rangers reason to be confident going into the 2018 season, then their opening result against Athletic in the new season temporarily dashed that reasoning.

Arriving for the season opener in Tulsa’s inaugural Party in the Park the day after Cinco de Mayo, the Rangers “curiously” dressed just 11 players, including a 4th string goalkeeper pressed into starting duties. The resulting Tulsa 6-1 dismantling of the Rangers seemed to indicate only one of the two clubs would be seeing the postseason. But Little Rock would proceed to pace Tulsa in the points race, reeling off 6 wins, including three straight clean sheet victories. While Wichita would hold a single point advantage for the regular season title over either of the clubs, Little Rock and Tulsa rolled into the final week of regular season play in a now too-familiar position: a head to head tilt to decide the #2 and #3 seeds in the Heartland Conference playoffs.However, this time the match was hosted in Little Rock, and while the Rangers still dragged the albatross of their 0-1-5 record vs the Athletic into the tilt, they did have the home field advantage.

Early in the match, Tulsa dominated in terms of both possession and created chances. By the end of the game, the Athletic would actually be able to count off six clear scoring opportunities in 1v1 situations with Little Rock’s goalkeeper, Walid Birrou, but came away empty. In the second half, Little Rock heightened the press, increasing their scoring chances but leaving themselves vulnerable to the Tulsa counter. The Athletic nearly struck on such an opportunity in 80th minute, but Birrou secured the low dipping strike and punted deep to Forward Alex Guadron, who struck home the opening goal of the match. Nine minutes later, Winger Donald Benamna scored for the Rangers, and Little Rock celebrated its first victory over the Athletic, secured hosting a playoff match for the first time in club history, and set a date for another 90 minutes on the dance card with Tulsa in just four days time, on Wednesday night, July 11th, 2018.

- Ryan Stallings