Tulsa Athletics co-owner Sonny Dalesandro, whose team will play USL-Pro's Oklahoma City Energy FC in a U.S. Open Cup match in May, says his soccer club has professional aspirations.

The Athletics, who compete as an amateur summer team in the National Professional Soccer League, say they are in discussions with the North American Soccer League, one of two professional soccer leagues a rung below Major League Soccer.

The Tulsa Roughnecks FC, backed by the Tulsa Drillers ownership group, are scheduled to begin play in USL-Pro (the other pro league below MLS) in 2015 at ONEOK Field.

"They've (NASL officials) been to Tulsa on a couple of occasions, and our field now meets the standards of the NASL," Dalesandro said Wednesday. "We stated about a year ago that our goal wasn't to start and end in the NPSL, and we're going to continue to press in the right direction to bring a major league sports franchise here."

The Athletics play the OKC Energy at 7:30 p.m. May 14 at Drillers Stadium, which has been renamed Athletics Stadium. The U.S. Open is the soccer championship of the United States.