Friday Night Soccer Roundup

OSU Ties Texas

Oklahoma State earned yet another tie on a cold, rainy Friday night as the Cowgirls battled 25th-ranked Texas to a 1-1 draw at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

With its second-straight tie, OSU is now 5-3-6 overall and 1-1-3 in Big 12 Conference play. The Cowgirls' six ties is a school record and is three shy of the NCAA single-season record of nine set by William & Mary in 2005.

"It's frustrating, and we don't have an answer as to why — we don't go out with the intention of playing for a tie," said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. "We certainly were trying to go for it late in the game and into overtime with the three forwards we had on the field.

"The good news is we're very difficult to beat. We have a very strong mentality when it comes to fighting in close games. But the next step is we have to figure out how to win these close games. It's something we'll continue to address, and hopefully it'll kick in soon."

OSU held a lead throughout much of the second half as in the 52nd minute, freshman Courtney Dike recorded her team-leading ninth goal of the season off an assist from Krissi Killion.

The 1-0 advantage lasted until the 85:31 mark when UT's Kelsey Shimmick delivered a long cross into the box that Lindsey Meyer deposited into the back of the net to knot the score.

Texas (10-4-2, 4-1-1) owned a 16-10 shot advantage in the match, but the Cowgirls had three shots in the overtime periods. In the second overtime, Kristen Kelley and Dike barely missed connecting on a golden goal, while Allie Stephenson had a head-on shot from 15 yards out that was saved by UT goalie Abby Smith.

Smith finished with two saves in the match, while OSU keeper Michela Ongaro recorded a career-high seven.

Opportunities were scarce in the opening half, with UT outshooting the Cowgirls by a 6-3 margin. Three of the Longhorns' shots were on goal but each was saved by Ongaro; the visitors also had a shot hit the crossbar on a Sharis Lachappelle free kick from 30-yards out.

OSU's best scoring chance in the first half came on a late shot by Haley Maurice, but the attempt was easily saved by Smith.

"We didn't play very well in the first half, and our shape was a little bit off so we made an adjustment tactically in the second half with a three front," Carmichael said. "More than anything, it was our lack of effort in the first half as opposed to our effort in the second half and overtime where I felt our effort was tremendous. We competed very well and certainly had enough chances to where we felt like we could have won the game."

OSU returns to action Sunday with its final non-conference match of the regular season when the Cowgirls host Missouri State at 1 p.m.

Sooners Top TCU

Led by Abby Hodgen's third goal of the season and a clutch performance by goalkeeper Kassadie Stade, the Oklahoma soccer team posted a 1-0 victory over conference opponent TCU on Friday evening. The win over the Horned Frogs (5-8-3, 1-4-1 Big 12) marked the Sooners' (4-10-1, 1-4-0 Big 12) first conference victory of the season and OU's fourth shutout win this fall.

Oklahoma opened the match ready to put up an offensive challenge against TCU's defense. The Sooners posted a 5-1 shot advantage in the first half, but the Horned Frog defense held fast to set the score at a 0-0 tie by halftime.

Daisy Cardona had one of OU's best looks of the first half when the junior created an advantageous one-on-one matchup with TCU goalkeeper Vittoria Arnold. Cardona's shot sailed just high of the goal, however, keeping the Sooners off the board.

It took Oklahoma under ten minutes to break their scoring drought in the second half. OU took advantage of a free kick to line up Abby Hodgen in hopes of putting the Sooners in scoring position. Hodgen more than delivered, burying a free kick in the left side of the goal to give the junior her third goal of the season and put OU up 1-0.

The defensive battle continued following the Sooner goal, but OU continued to prevent TCU from getting solid looks offensively. Not even the frantic pace of the match's final 10 minutes could shake Oklahoma and Stade as the defensive continued to clear the ball and take away Horned Frog scoring opportunities.

Stade quietly put together an outstanding match herself, notching four saves (including two key snags in the final six minutes of play) while foiling multiple TCU set pieces to secure the Sooner victory.

OU's victory will keep the Sooners' Big 12 Championship hopes alive as the team turns their focus to the final three matches of the season. Oklahoma now sits in eighth overall in league play at 1-4-0.

Oklahoma will wrap up the weekend on Sunday in a rivalry contest with the Texas Longhorns.

TU Falls To North Texas

The Tulsa women's soccer team fell to North Texas, 4-1, on Friday night at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.  TU dropped to 9-5-1 on the season and 3-2-1 in Conference USA, while NT moved to 10-5-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the league.

"It was one of those games if you look at the stats and look at the score you would think they are opposite," Head Coach Kyle Cussen said.  "We played well in the midfield and we created opportunities, but they are great at counter attacks.  I felt like we fought back and that we were still in it the whole time."

Amber Haggerty put the Mean Green on the board with just 2:23 ticked off the clock and Lynda Hercules gave North Texas a two-goal lead in the 15^th minute.  Vanessa Ibewuike, who earned assists on both the first two goals, put one into the back of the net at the 43:15 mark from 25 yards out.

Tori Peters got one back for the Golden Hurricane in the 55^th minute off a corner kick taken by Jordan O'Brien, but it would be the only goal for TU.

Kelsey Hodges scored the final goal at the 89:06 mark as she drilled in a goal from 45 yards out on a free kick.

O'Brien led Tulsa with four shots, three of which were on goal, while Camille Pelley and Lauren King both had three attempts, and Claire Nicholson and Lana Bermel each had two shots.  Hayley Harryman logged all 90 minutes between the posts.

TU had a 21-9 lead in shots, including a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, and had a 6-1 lead in corner kicks.

Tulsa will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 20^th against UTEP.  Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Hurricane Stadium.