Tulsa Native Mata Signs With Roughnecks

The Tulsa Roughnecks and head coach David Irving announced Thursday afternoon that the club has signed Tulsa resident Cristian Mata to a contract. Mata is eligible to be in uniform for tonight's match with Sacramento Republic FC at ONEOK Field.

The 21-year-old attended Tulsa Union High School and was four-year letter winner on the soccer team. He scored 70 career goals for the Redskins and was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year in his senior season.

He also played club soccer for TSC Hurricane.

After high school, Mata played two seasons for the nationally ranked University of Tulsa. As a freshman, he started 19 of 20 games and led the Golden Hurricane with 14 goals. The forward was named TU's Offensive Player of the Year.

As a sophomore, he tallied a team-leading 10 goals and 27 points for the Golden Hurricane. Mata earned second team All-American honors as selected by Soccer America.

Since leaving TU, Mata has had professional tryouts with Xolos de Tijuana of Liga MX and Seattle Sounders of MLS.

"Cristian has been training with us the past few weeks, and we are excited to have him officially join our squad," said Irving. "He is a strong offensive player who I believe can be very helpful for us over the second-half of the season."

The Roughnecks host USL champs Sacramento tonight at ONEOK Field, followed by a visit from Los Angeles Galaxy II Saturday evening.