11-3 Soccer Battles For Big 12 Lead

Oct. 14, 2002

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NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma Sooners, third in the Big 12 standings, host the two teams above them at John Crain Field when Texas and Texas A&M come calling this weekend.

The Sooners defeated Missouri and Kansas in key conference matchups over the weekend to improve to 11-3-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the Big 12. Oklahoma boasts an eight-game winning streak at John Crain Field dating back to last season. Over the past two seasons, OU is 14-1-1 (.906) at home and 19-5-2 (.769) over the past three.

Oklahoma has already tied the school record for most victories in a season (11) and still has five games remaining on the schedule. The Sooners have a chance to further that record with possible berths in the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA's at the end of the season. However, OU won't be looking that far down the road this week with the formidable Longhorns and Aggies heading up I-35.

The defending regular season Big 12 champion Longhorns are at the top of the Big 12 standings and undefeated in conference play at 5-0. Texas is ranked No. 4 nationally and tops the latest NSCAA/adidas Central Regional Rankings at No. 1 while OU is ranked sixth. UT is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak after disposing of Baylor, 3-1, and Texas Tech, 5-1, over the weekend.

The Longhorns lead the conference in almost all of the team offensive categories including points, goals and assists. In its five Big 12 games so far this season, Texas has out-scored its opponents by a whopping 20-2 margin.

Texas holds a slim 3-2 lead in the overall series with OU. The series is split according to where the game was played: Texas has won all three games in Austin while OU has won both played in Norman. Last year, UT beat Oklahoma, 3-1, on October 28, 2001.

Texas A&M is ranked No. 6 nationally and second in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Central Regional Rankings. The Aggies also hold down second place behind Texas in the conference standings at 4-0-1. Baylor managed a 1-1 tie in Waco on Friday, Oct. 11.

The Aggies are the only Big 12 team Oklahoma has never beaten. The Sooners are 0-7 against A&M including last year's final game, a 1-0 overtime thriller, in the first round of the 2001 Big 12 Tournament. After getting past OU, A&M would go on to upset Texas, 1-0, and claim the 2001 Big 12 Soccer Tournament crown.

Oklahoma takes on Texas at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, Oct. 18. The first 250 fans through the gates will claim OU Thunder sticks and the Norman Youth Soccer League Team of the Year will be announced.

On Sunday, the Sooners take the field against the Texas A&M Aggies at 1 p.m. in their final home game of the season. Fans showing their football ticket stub from the OU-Iowa State game at the gate will receive a special $2 admission to the game.

Nelson Nails Jayhawks
Forward Becky Nelson scored twice off feeds from senior Krissy Dawson to seal the Sooners' 11th win of the season in Lawrence, Kan., with a 2-1 victory over the Jayhawks on Sunday. It was Nelson's first multiple-goal game of her career at Oklahoma. The freshman now ranks fourth on the team with 10 points including four goals and two assists.

Womack Extends Record
Junior forward Logan Womack recorded the first hat trick in Oklahoma soccer history with her three scores against Big 12 rival Baylor on Sept. 27. Womack's final score gave her the career goals record at OU with 27, moving her past former Sooner Jonette Coquat (26). Womack has eight goals so far this season to push her career total to 28.

Dawson's Peak
Senior forward Krissy Dawson is in second place on the career assists chart with 12. She passed Heather Morrison (9) with an assist against Texas Tech on Sept. 29. Fellow teammate Shannon Wing is in third with 11 assists while former Sooner Jonette Coquat leads in the category with 15 career assists from 1998-2001.

Wingin' It
Senior Shannon Wing is in third place on the OU career assists list with 11. She's contributed three assists and two goals this season. Wing has 14 starts in 14 games for 2002, extending her streak to 71-straight starts for OU over the past four seasons.

Mac Attack
Freshman Lauren MacIver leads all newcomers at Oklahoma with 11 points for the Sooners this season (four goals, three assists). MacIver scored twice against Big 12 rival Texas Tech for her first multiple goal game at OU.

Wade Leads Big 12
Sophomore Catherine Wade is the top-ranked goalkeeper in the conference in goals against average (1.01) and ranks second in save percentage (.800).

Rankings
Oklahoma is ranked sixth in the latest NSCAA/adidas Central Regional Rankings, up from No. 8 last week. Additional ranked conference teams include Texas at No. 1, Texas A&M at No. 2 and Nebraska at No. 5. Kansas and Missouri are tied at No. 9.

Head Coach Randy Evans
Randy Evans is in his fourth year as head coach of the Oklahoma soccer program. Evans has the 2002 Sooners at 11-3-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the Big 12 Conference.

Prior to this season, he coordinated the strongest season in OU's young soccer history last year. The Sooners won a school-record 11 games while compiling a stellar 8-1-1 record at home and notched their first victories ever over conference rivals Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Missouri. OU came within a goal of upsetting Texas A&M -- the eventual tournament champion -- in its second consecutive appearance in the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Evans also directed some outstanding individual performances in his third season. Forward Logan Womack became the first OU player to be named first team All-Big 12 while goalkeeper Catherine Wade and defender Christen Secrest garnered Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. Twelve OU soccer student-athletes were also named Academic All-Big 12 selections.

OU Soccer Cumulative Statistics

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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