TAHLEQUAH – Three Northeastern State men's soccer alumni will face Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City on April 25 as part of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. 

Joe Garcia, Aaron Ugbah, and Jason Rogers were part of a 1-nil win for Tulsa Athletic over its cross-town pro-rivals FC Tulsa in the second round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Tulsa Athletic, which plays in the semi-professional National Premier Soccer League, is the only amateur team to advance to the third round.

The NPSL is in the fourth tier of U.S. soccer.

Garcia, a two-time All-American, holds countless scoring accolades at NSU as a four-year letter winner; one of the most notable is landing a goal in 11 consecutive matches.  He has played in Puerto Rico, Australia, and the United States.  The Midfielder from Grand Prairie, Texas, plays an essential role on the Tulsa side, where he leads as one of the team captains.

Ugbah played 73 matches at NSU in his four-year career, netting 15 goals.  He made an impact in the 2017 Men's Soccer run to the NCAA National Championship, where he started all 20 games and tailed three goals and four assists.

Rogers is in his first season as head coach for Tusla Athletic and was a midfielder for Northeastern from 2005-08.  A psychology major, the former midfielder started all 14 games in his senior year, tallying one goal and one assist.

Kickoff for Tulsa Athletic is at 7:30 p.m. in Kansas City.