OCU To Host Doane In NAIA Championship Opening Round

Oklahoma City University earned a No. 4 seed and will host Doane (Neb.) in the 2012 NAIA Championship Opening Round at 2 p.m. Saturday at Stars Field.

The 19-1 Stars will host an opening-round match for the third straight season. OCU defeated Bellevue (Neb.) in 2010 and Trinity Christian (Ill.) in 2011.

OCU is 7-6-1 all time in the national tournament. The Stars reached the semifinals in 1999 and 2000 and appeared in the championship match in 2001. The Stars fell 2-1 to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the second round of the national tournament a season ago.

The Stars, ranked No. 6 in NAIA women's soccer, won Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles this season. OCU is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA modified ratings percentage index (MRPI).

The Stars are led by six all-SAC selections including SAC player of the year and offensive player of the year Meghan McMahon and defensive player of the year Brenna Skillern.

McMahon, a junior from Oklahoma City, leads OCU and the SAC with 25 goals in 2012. The forward scored her 58th career goal this season and tied the OCU record for career goals set by Melissa Sexton in 1994-97. McMahon is ranked third in the NAIA in game-winning goals (7) and eighth in goals (25), total points (60) and points per game (3.0).

Skillern, of Yukon, Okla., earned her third consecutive SAC defensive player of the year award in 2012. The senior defender tallied one goal, passed out three assists and anchored an OCU defensive that allowed just five goals this season. The Stars' defense set an OCU record for most shutouts in a single season with 16 this year.

OCU's other all-SAC selections are junior goalkeepers Ashley Bechtold and Alissa Reed, sophomore defender Allie Glazner and freshman forward Allison Worsham.

Doane (14-5) punched its ticket to the opening round by defeating Hastings (Kan.) 3-0 to win the Great Plain Athletic Conference Tournament. The Tigers are led by GPAC offensive player of the year Sara Cushing. Cushing has scored 21 goals this season.

The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the NAIA Championship final site of Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., and face No. 13 seed William Carey (Miss.) or Texas-Brownsville at 6:30 p.m. CST Nov. 26th.