The 2018 OKC Energy FC season was the club's fifth season of existence, and their fifth consecutive season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of American soccer. Energy FC also played in the U.S. Open Cup. The season covered the period from November 5, 2017, to the beginning of the 2019 USL season.
The 2018 season was the first for OKC under new head coach Steve Cooke, who had previously been the interim head coach of Colorado Rapids. Cooke became just the second head coach in club history; Jimmy Nielsen had been in charge for the previous four seasons.
Energy FC finished tenth place in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for just the second time in club history and the first time since 2014. OKC took points from 16 of their last 21 matches, after losing 10 of their first 13 games, but still finished 10 points outside the final playoff spot. In the U.S. Open Cup, Energy FC was knocked out by amateur club NTX Rayados, who play in the North Texas Premier Soccer Association. It marked the first season in club history in which OKC did not win at least one game in the cup.
Roster
No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Previous club Apps Goals Goalkeepers 1 Cody Laurendi GK 2016 Austin Aztex 65 0 16 Bryan Byars GK 2018 Tulsa Roughnecks 8 0 30 Matt Van Oekel GK 2018 Real Salt Lake 19 0 Defenders 2 Richard Dixon DF 2017 Saint Louis FC 55 0 3 Kyle Hyland DF 2016 Indy Eleven 86 5 5 Christian Ibeagha DF 2018 North Carolina FC 28 2 6 Drew Beckie DF 2018 Jacksonville Armada 20 0 15 Atiba Harris DF 2018 Murciélagos 14 1 19 Max Gunderson DF 2018 OKC Energy U23 13 0 23 Shawn McLaws DF 2018 Harrisburg City Islanders 13 0 Midfielders 4 Callum Ross MF 2018 Charlotte Independence 31 2 7 Philip Rasmussen MF 2017 Lyngby BK 40 6 8 Juan Guzman MF 2017 Patriotas 34 2 11 Alex Dixon MF 2017 Jacksonville Armada 71 20 13 Justin Chavez MF 2018 Tampa Bay Rowdies 29 0 14 José Barril MF 2017 Harrisburg City Islanders 68 4 21 Kalif Alhassan MF 2018 Dila Gori 6 0 22 Marco Bustos MF 2018 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 9 1 27 Ryley Kraft MF 2018 Orlando City B 0 0 Forwards 9 Adam Jahn FW 2018 Columbus Crew SC (loan) 10 3 10 Miguel González FW 2017 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 48 11 12 Christian Volesky FW 2018 Saint Louis FC 23 9 17 Jonathan Brown FW 2017 Abahani Limited Dhaka 37 1 20 Deshorn Brown FW 2018 Lorca 4 1 28 Monty Patterson FW 2018 Wellington Phoenix 3 1 32 Jaime Siaj FW 2018 Charlotte Independence 23 4
Non-competitive
Preseason
Competitions
USL
Standings
Results summary
Results by round
Match results In August 2017, the USL announced that the 2018 season would span 34 games, the longest regular season the league had ever run. The expansion was spurred by the addition of six new clubs for the 2018 season: Atlanta United 2, Fresno FC, Indy Eleven, Las Vegas Lights, Nashville SC, and North Carolina FC.
On January 12, 2018, the league announced home openers for every club. Energy FC opened their home slate with the season's first fixture of the Black Gold Derby against Tulsa Roughnecks, the second time in four years that Energy FC and Tulsa faced off in the season opener. The teams had previously faced off to open the 2015 season.
The schedule for the remainder of the 2018 season was released on January 19. Energy FC played three times against both Colorado Springs Switchbacks and Tulsa. They faced every other Western Conference team twice.
U.S. Open Cup
Statistics
Appearances and goals No. Pos. Name USL U.S. Open Cup Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 1 GK Cody Laurendi900090 2 DF Richard Dixon25010260 3 DF Kyle Hyland24010250 4 MF Callum Ross30210312 5 DF Christian Ibeagha28200282 6 DF Drew Beckie20000200 7 MF Philip Rasmussen25311264 8 MF Juan Guzman600060 9 FW Adam Jahn10300103 10 FW Miguel González13111142 11 MF Alex Dixon3411103511 12 FW Christian Volesky22910239 13 MF Justin Chavez28010290 14 MF José Barril33210342 15 DF Atiba Harris14100141 16 GK Bryan Byars800080 17 FW Jonathan Brown25000250 19 DF Max Gunderson101020 20 FW Deshorn Brown410041 21 MF Kalif Alhassan600060 22 MF Marco Bustos910091 23 DF Shawn McLaws12010130 27 MF Ryley Kraft000000 28 FW Monty Patterson310031 30 GK Matt Van Oekel18010190 32 FW Jaime Siaj23400234Players who left the club during the season: 9 FW José Angulo400040 20 DF Joseph Adjei401050 22 MF Juan Niño000000 26 DF Coady Andrews701080 34 DF Jordan Cano500050 52 MF Ema Twumasi600060 57 FW Francis Atuahene820082
Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name USL U.S. Open Cup Total 2 DF Richard Dixon400040 3 DF Kyle Hyland100010 4 MF Callum Ross800080 5 DF Christian Ibeagha900090 6 DF Drew Beckie500050 7 MF Philip Rasmussen300030 8 MF Juan Guzman200020 9 FW Adam Jahn300030 10 FW Miguel González110011 11 MF Alex Dixon200020 13 MF Justin Chavez310031 14 MF José Barril601070 15 DF Atiba Harris400040 21 MF Kalif Alhassan100010 22 MF Marco Bustos100010 30 GK Matt Van Oekel100010 32 FW Jaime Siaj200020Players who left the club during the season: 9 FW José Angulo100010 20 DF Joseph Adjei100010 57 FW Francis Atuahene200020
Clean sheets No. Name USL U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 1 Cody Laurendi4049 16 Bryan Byars2028 30 Matt Van Oekel30319
Transfers
In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource DF Shawn McLaws Harrisburg City Islanders Terms of the deal were undisclosed. December 7, 2017 FW José Angulo Saint Louis FC Completed permanent transfer. December 28, 2017 MF Callum Ross Charlotte Independence Terms of the deal were undisclosed. January 2, 2018 GK Matt Van Oekel Real Salt Lake Terms of the deal were undisclosed. January 5, 2018 DF Christian Ibeagha North Carolina FC Terms of the deal were undisclosed. January 15, 2018 GK Bryan Byars Tulsa Roughnecks Terms of the deal were undisclosed. January 25, 2018 FW Jaime Siaj Charlotte Independence Terms of the deal were undisclosed. February 6, 2018 DF Joseph Adjei Wa All Stars Terms of the deal were undisclosed. February 15, 2018 MF Justin Chavez Tampa Bay Rowdies Terms of the deal were undisclosed. February 23, 2018 DF Max Gunderson OKC Energy U23 Terms of the deal were undisclosed. February 28, 2018 MF Juan Niño FK Lovćen Terms of the deal were undisclosed. March 1, 2018 FW Christian Volesky Saint Louis FC Saint Louis receives an international roster spot. May 8, 2018 MF Kalif Alhassan Dila Gori Terms of the deal were undisclosed. May 24, 2018 DF Drew Beckie Jacksonville Armada Terms of the deal were undisclosed. June 7, 2018 MF Ryley Kraft Orlando City B Terms of the deal were undisclosed. June 9, 2018 DF Atiba Harris Murciélagos Terms of the deal were undisclosed. June 27, 2018 FW Monty Patterson Wellington Phoenix Terms of the deal were undisclosed. July 30, 2018 MF Marco Bustos Vancouver Whitecaps FC Terms of the deal were undisclosed. August 15, 2018 FW Deshorn Brown Lorca Signed through the 2019 season. September 18, 2018
Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource FW Francis Atuahene FC Dallas On a match-by-match basis. March 2, 2018 July 28, 2018 MF Ema Twumasi FC Dallas On a match-by-match basis. March 2, 2018 June 23, 2018DF Jordan Cano FC DallasOn a match-by-match basis. March 16, 2018 May 30, 2018 July 7, 2018 September 2, 2018 FW Adam Jahn Columbus Crew SC On a match-by-match basis. July 24, 2018 October 14, 2018
Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource MF Chad Bond Contract expired. November 5, 2017 GK C. J. Cochran Nashville SC Contract expired. Signed for Nashville on December 7, 2017. November 5, 2017 FW Andy Craven Contract expired. November 5, 2017 DF Michael Daly Fresno FC Contract expired. Signed for Fresno on December 5, 2017. November 5, 2017 DF Sam Fink Saint Louis FC Contract expired. Signed for Saint Louis on December 13, 2017. November 5, 2017 MF Daniel Gonzalez Contract expired. November 5, 2017 DF Michael Harris Contract expired. November 5, 2017 GK Jacob Lissek Penn FC Contract expired. Signed for Penn on February 15, 2018. November 5, 2017 MF Luis Martinez Contract expired. November 5, 2017 DF Anthony Wallace Contract expired. November 5, 2017 FW Wojciech Wojcik New York Cosmos B Contract expired. Signed for Cosmos B on March 20, 2018. November 5, 2017 MF Juan Niño No longer listed on roster. May 26, 2018 FW José Angulo Departed through mutual consent. June 17, 2018 DF Coady Andrews Retired. June 24, 2018 DF Joseph Adjei Malkiya Club Departed through mutual consent. Signed for Malkiya on October 7, 2018. July 20, 2018
Awards
USL Team of the Week WeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 1 Francis Atuahene Tulsa Roughnecks 10 Callum Ross Colorado Springs Switchbacks 14 Jaime Siaj Portland Timbers 2Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 15 Drew Beckie LA Galaxy II 17 José Barril San Antonio FCColorado Springs Switchbacks 18 Alex Dixon Las Vegas Lights 21 José Barril Alex Dixon Tulsa RoughnecksReal Monarchs 23 Alex Dixon Christian Volesky Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 24 José Barril Seattle Sounders FC 2 27 Callum Ross LA Galaxy II 29 Cody Laurendi Las Vegas Lights
USL Save of the Week WeekPlayerOpponentLink 25 Cody Laurendi Swope Park Rangers
Kits
Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / Record HomeWhiteWhiteWhiteMatch 1 vs. Tulsa / 9–5–13 AwayBlueBlueBlueMatch 12 vs. Reno / 3–2–3
See also OKC Energy FC 2018 in American soccer 2018 USL season
References