TULSA, Okla. — For those at Tulsa Athletic, it isn't always soccer first.
"I just graduated with my undergrad, now I'm doing my masters, but I am also working at a consulting firm downtown," Athletic captain and former ORU soccer player Vinicius Oliveira said.
A club in the National Premier Soccer League, unlike professional soccer leagues, members of the Athletic don't get paid to play. Even Athletic head coach Jason Rogers has a "real job". He is Edison's boys' and girls' soccer coach.
"When they are headed home we are just getting off work," Rogers said. "Maybe take a little rest and have dinner before coming out here for an 8:30-10:30pm training session.
At Hicks Park, where Tulsa Athletic plays its home matches and holds training sessions, it's hard to tell how many guys are going to be able to show up to training because of work and life obligations. In just two weeks, though, they will play on one of the biggest stages in American soccer.
On April 5, Athletic provided one of the biggest upsets in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup. Beating crosstown rival FC Tulsa 1-0, avenging a 2022 loss.
"I was told I celebrated like a child," Athletic defender and former TU soccer player Chris Taylor said. "I understood the magnitude of the moment and to be able to be on the winning side of it was an amazing achievement for the club."
"Whenever we finally did it after one year, after that much anticipation, was the best soccer night of my life for sure," Oliveira said.
On April 25, Athletic will travel north to play one of the winningest teams in Cup history. Major League Soccer's own Sporting Kansas City.
"Honestly it means so much for me, but for the whole group it's a dream, dream come true," Oliveira said.
"I think it's what every team that enters the Open Cup that is what they dream for. Right now we are living it," Taylor said. "The goal for us is to keep that dream going. We have training over the next few weeks to get prepared. Again, we are all going to walk out there and have smiles on our faces, but there is still a match to be played."
Tulsa Athletic is also in position to earn a major paycheck for the cup run.
One of only two amateur teams to reach the third round, if they can match a result of Chicago House AC (vs Chicago Fire (MLS) on April 26) Athletic will earn itself $25,000.
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