Friday College Soccer Roundup

Cowgirls Run Win Streak To Three

STILLWATER, Okla. — Courtney Dike's goal less than three minutes into the match proved to be all Oklahoma State would need as the Cowgirls topped Memphis, 1-0, in the OSU Invitational Sponsored by Holiday Inn & Suites Friday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

Dike's first goal of the season came just 2:33 into the match and propelled coach Colin Carmichael's squad to its third-straight win as the Cowgirls improved to 3-6-0 on the season with their second consecutive shutout.

“The most pleasing thing tonight was the shutout,” Carmichael said. “We got a shutout last Sunday (vs. UT Martin), and tonight we worked really hard as a unit. It was not our prettiest game, not our best game, but the girls found a way to grind it out. That's important to us.

“We've played a lot of good games over the years and lost so to play maybe a little bit sub-par and grind out a win against a good team was really pleasing.”

For Dike, getting in the scoring column in her seventh game of the year was a relief. The Cowgirl sophomore led OSU with 13 goals a year ago and is the leading returning scorer in the Big 12 Conference this season.

Dike's goal came when she beat her defender and blasted a shot from 22-yards out to the near post past Memphis goalie Maryse Bard-Martel.

“I feel great — I feel like now that I got one, hopefully more will come,” Dike said.

Shots were hard to come by in the match, with OSU owning a slight 10-7 advantage over the Tigers.

But the Cowgirls' defense, led by center backs Niki McKnight and Natalie Calhoun, came up big in the shutout.

Calhoun had a big stop early, blocking a shot from the top of the 18-yard box by Nugene Nugent in the eighth minute to set the tone for OSU.

Senior goalie Rosa Medina also came up big to record her second shutout, recording four saves on Memphis' seven shots, including a diving deflection of a shot by Nugent in the 55th minute that prevented the equalizer.

“McKnight and Calhoun in the heart of the defense were phenomenal, Delaney Kiely had her best game of the season, (Kelsey) Bass was good and Rosa (Medina) did her job,” Carmichael said. “It was hard work. (Memphis) is a good team. I'm pleased with the effort and the defending.”

OSU returns to action Sunday against Tulsa, who suffered a 3-1 loss to sixth-ranked Texas Tech in Friday's opening tourney game.

Sooners Fall to Anteaters in California

IRVINE, Calif. -- The 19th-ranked Oklahoma soccer team dropped its first road match of the season on Friday night in a 2-1 loss to UC Irvine. The Sooners (5-2-2) led the Anteaters (4-4-1) in shots (11-8) and corners (9-4), but were unable to capitalize on several major scoring opportunities. The match marked the first time this season Oklahoma has surrendered more than one goal in a contest.

The first half ended in a scoreless tie, with the Sooners firing four shots in the last 12 minutes of action. Abby Hodgen got one of OU's best looks with a ball that dinged off the crossbar in the 33rd minute of action. Oklahoma's defense did its part to keep UCI off the board, with Kaitlyn Fahrner making two saves and the defense blocking an additional shot in the 21st minute.

Despite additional scoring chances by Chelsea Jackson, Devin Barrett and Tori Bowman, OU headed to the locker room deadlocked with the Anteaters after 45 minutes of play.

UCI came out firing to start the second half, sending in two corner kicks and three shots in the first eight minutes of play. The Sooners responded by with one save and two additional blocks to escape the pressure.

Just two minutes later, the Anteaters would take the lead off a goal from Cami Privett. Laura McGrail and Noel Baham crossed in a ball that Privett slipped past Fahrner, forcing the Sooners to begin trying to play catch-up as they hunted for the equalizer. Laura Rayfield tried to connect with Ayana O'Neal minutes later on a corner kick, but O'Neal's shot was blocked.

Oklahoma took two more corners as the team subbed in fresh legs in the hunt for a responding goal, but the Sooners were unable to pull down a solid look at the goal. UC Irvine struck again in the 79th minute off a header from McGrail that was crossed in from Baham, extending OU's deficit to 2-0.

Less than three minutes later, Oklahoma struck back. A foul on UCI set up a free kick from Rayfield, allowing her to connect with O'Neal through the wall near the right post. OU's hopes were reunited as the Anteater lead was cut to 2-1. The Sooners had another chance on a corner 30 seconds later, but Hodgen's shot was saved to prevent the equalizing goal.

Oklahoma lined up its ninth and final corner of the match in the 84th minute, but the ball was cleared to prevent a scoring opportunity. The contest went final at 2-1 several minutes later, sealing a win for UCI and OU's first road loss of 2014.

Oklahoma will cap its final non-conference road weekend of the season on Sunday, facing San Diego at 3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT). The match will take place at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

Tulsa Women Fall to No. 6 Texas Tech, 3-1

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Tulsa women's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to sixth-ranked Texas Tech on Friday night in the Holiday Inn & Suites OSU Invitational in Stillwater.

TU fell to 6-2-1 on the season, while the Red Raiders moved to 8-0.

“It says a lot for our program that we are disappointed with a loss to the No. 6 team in the country,” coach Kyle Cussen said. “We ended up with more shots on goal and it was a very even game. The only difference was they finished their opportunities tonight and we didn't. Overall I am proud of the team. They played hard and had a good showing.”

Rachel Thun put the Golden Hurricane on the board first at the 14:27 mark as she shot from six yards out off a Roman Edwards free kick into the box. This was Thun's sixth goal on the season.

Janine Beckie evened the score on a penalty kick in the 19th minute, and then Caity Heap gave Texas Tech a two-goal cushion heading into the break. Beckie added a second goal in the 65th minute for the final score.

The Red Raiders had a 12-9 lead in shots, while Tulsa had a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, and Texas Tech had a 6-1 lead in corner kicks.

Claire Maris had a team-best three shots, two of which were on goal, while Lauren King added two attempts. Courtney McKeon logged all 90 minutes between the posts for one save.

Tulsa will return to action against Oklahoma State in the final game of the tournament. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on Sunday at the Cowgirls Soccer Complex.

ORU Women Begin Three-Match Road Swing At Baylor

TULSA, Okla. – The Oral Roberts University women's soccer team begins a tough three-match road trip on Sunday as the Golden Eagles travel to Waco, Texas, to take on Big 12 member Baylor. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Last Sunday, ORU dropped to 1-3-2 on the season after allowing two late goals in a 2-1 loss against Cal Poly. Sophomore Tahlor Lyman recorded her first career goal 58 seconds into the second half to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Megan Giles and Megan Guico were credited with assists on Lyman's goal. The assist by Giles was the 16th assist of her career, tying her with Martha Owens (2000-03) for seventh on the ORU career assists list.

Redshirt sophomore Madison Valenzuela is tied for second in the Summit League with a team-high three assists.

Baylor (5-3-0) enters the weekend following a 2-1 loss last Sunday at Illinois State after dropping a 1-0 decision at No. 19 Notre Dame last Friday. The Bears travel to UTSA for a match on Friday before hosting the Golden Eagles.

The Bears are outscoring their opponents 17-6, led by preseason All-Big 12 selection Bri Campos and Precious Akanyiridge with three goals each.

Baylor shut out the Golden Eagles, 5-0 on October 28, 1997 in Waco, the only other match-up between the two programs.

ORU Men Shut Out By SMU

DALLAS, Texas – The Oral Roberts University men's soccer team dropped its second consecutive match on Friday as the Golden Eagles were shutout 2-0 by SMU in Dallas, Texas.

ORU fell to 2-2-1 on the season, while the Mustangs reached the .500 mark at 3-3-0.

Just before halftime, in the 43rd minute, SMU scored its first goal of the match as Joseph Benjamin slipped a shot into the net to put the Mustangs up 1-0. Jordan Cano extended the Mustang lead in the 57th minute with a header off a corner kick by Bryce Clark, making it 2-0.

Both teams combined to attempt just 13 shots in the match and Tarik Salkicic had ORU's only shot on goal in the 81st minute.

Mauro Cichero led the Mustangs with two shots on target.

Ben LaCourse earned four saves in the defeat dropping his record to 2-2-1 on the season.

The loss dropped ORU to 0-6 all-time against the Mustangs.

ORU looks to get back on track at home on Monday as the Golden Eagles return to the Case Soccer Complex for a showdown with Houston Baptist. Kickoff against the Huskies is set for 7 p.m.