Rufe’s Late Goal Grabs Valuable Point for Legion FC

USL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHDAY 23	1ST HALF	2ND HALF	FINAL
BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC (4W-9L-10D | 22 PTS)	0	1	1
FC Tulsa (12W-4L-7D | 43 PTS)	1	0	1

TULSA, Okla. – Following a hard-luck penalty against it right before halftime, it appeared Birmingham Legion FC was on its way to a defeat in Oklahoma on Saturday night. But with the odds seemingly stacked against the squad every step of the way, the fight never wavered and that was rewarded right before the final whistle, courtesy of Jake Rufe.

His goal in the 87th minute goal saw the Three Sparks play the USL Championship Western Conference leaders to a 1-1 draw in an emotionally-charged affair.

“It’s so special,” said Rufe, who headed home a ball by getting on the end of a flick from Dawson McCartney off of a free kick from Preston Tabort Etaka.

“Our confidence was high because we felt like we had a belief that we would get a goal. We were just waiting for the right opportunity to come and fortunately it came.”

While it was not the victory that Birmingham felt it deserved, the point earned does see the club gain some ground in the East table as it moves up to 10th place on 22 points and four points back of 8th.

With defenders Phanuel Kavita and Ramiz Hamouda both unavailable for selection due to international duty, the veteran Rufe was thrust into his first start since July 19 and made the most of the opportunity, not only with his second goal of the season, but also by anchoring a backline that did not allow a goal from the run of play.

“I’m so happy for Jake because he is the epitome of a top professional,” said Legion FC coach Mark Briggs. “He may have been harshly done by the lineup decisions in recent weeks, but he kept his head and his mindset, so for him to score the equalizing goal, I’m so happy for him. He’s a great guy, a great player and he deserved that goal and ended up being a good point in a very good direction because of the other results.”

Rufe completed 43 of his 54 passes on the night, while leading Birmingham with 10 clearances. He also wore the captain’s armband for the final 18 minutes of the match after Enzo Martinez subbed off for Preston Tabort Etaka.

“When Preston handed me the armband, I felt like it gave me a super power,” Rufe said. “I still can’t believe that ball went in, it just felt so good after feeling like we were on the wrong end of things in the first half.”

Prior to the equalizer, it was as though everything that could go wrong for Legion FC did. Briggs was forced to make a substitution in the 24th minute due to an apparent injury to Samuel Shashoua. The squad also tallied five yellow cards to Tulsa’s three despite the home side having committed more fouls.

And then late into first half stoppage time, Tulsa was awarded a penalty kick via a handball called on Jackson Travis, despite the officials originally awarding a corner kick. Taylor Calheira converted from the spot, sending Legion FC into the halftime with a 1-0 deficit that it did not feel it deserved.

“Whether it’s a penalty or not, the linesman pointed to the corner,” Briggs recalled of the sequence. “But then you see the referee look up (at the videoboard) before he changes the decision, that’s not in the rules.

“It was very frustrating because Tulsa are very direct and put a lot of pressure on you, and our guys were brilliant in defending on a really poor end of the baseball field, but that performance was taken away from them. I’m just so upset that they didn’t get the three points because of that.”

The penalty was, of course, heavily discussed by Birmingham in the locker room and used as a rallying point heading into the final 45 minutes.

“Mark said that we just got to use that frustration as motivation,” Rufe explained. “Sometimes when you’re a little mad, you run a little faster, tackle a little harder and we knew we couldn’t derail after that decision. We just had to press a little harder.”

Having signed with the club earlier in the week, midfielder Peter-Lee Vassell’s Legion FC debut came sooner than he or the coaching staff expected. He came on for Shashoua in the first half and connected on 25 of his 30 passes in his 66 minutes to go along with a shot just wide of goal right before the final whistle.

NEXT UP
Coming off of its second consecutive draw on the road, Legion FC will have 10 days off before it returns to Protective Stadium on September 17th for its Education Day match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies (TICKETS). A special kick-off time is set for 11:30 a.m. CT with students and teachers from all local schools invited to attend and take part in many fun STEM activities at the stadium, while also cheering for Legion FC as the team continues to push for the postseason.

“A result like this strengthens our belief for sure,” Rufe noted. “We have one goal in mind with this game coming up, our season is on the line. The stakes are high and we’re going to be ready.”