Soccer Ties No. 12 Colorado, 0-0, After Double Overtime

NORMAN, Okla. For the seventh time this season, No. 18 Oklahoma took an opponent past regulation time and ended up in a scoreless tie with No. 12 Colorado Sunday at John Crain Field.

It marked the fourth consecutive game in overtime for the Sooners this season, who are now 3-1-3 when playing in extra sessions. That lone loss came on Friday night in Lincoln, Neb., in a game that saw OU go into double OT, before losing 2-1 to the No. 22 Huskers.

'First of all it was great to be back home on our field,' said Oklahoma head coach Randy Evans. 'In order for us to be successful we have to be able to move the ball quickly with the speed that we have in our midfield and up front. Those last couple of games up north on those playing surfaces made it difficult for us to play the type of game that we want to play. Today, I think playing on our field gave the team a little more confidence.'

Evans added, 'That was a really good Colorado team we played today and I was thrilled with the play of our defense. We were organized enough to maintain possession and limit their attacks, unfortunately we were not able to capitalize on our scoring chances. In order for us to be a championship team we have to be able to put these teams away with a goal and hopefully we will learn from this game today.'

On Sunday the Buffaloes came out in the first half determined to take an early lead, but stellar play from goalkeeper Catherine Wade and the rest of the Sooner defense prevented CU from getting on top. In the opening period, CU fired 11 shots on Wade, as she made six saves. The visitors appeared to control the ball most of the half with the advantage in shots and possession, but OU remained in the game despite the one shot they had against CU's Jessica Keller.

The second half seemed to be a different story, as OU was rested and ready to capitalize on a scoring opportunity. One of the chances came at the 69:40 mark, when sophomore midfielder Becky Nelson and freshman midfielder Savannah Scott put together a nice give and go to allow Scott a clear shot. However, Keller prevented the score and end ended up with four saves in the second half. Again, with a little over 17 minutes to play, OU was threatening with a corner kick from senior midfielder Jessica Talton that found sophomore midfielder Christy Kenkel open in the box, but CU managed to clear the Kenkel header out of their zone.

The Buffs had plenty of chances as well, but Wade came up big starting off with a tip over the crossbar after a hard shot from CU's Orly Rimaster with 15 minutes left to play. Minutes later, Wade saved the day again, stopping a break away by CU's Kathryn Grandinetti at the 77:50 mark. Eventually, the two teams ended regulation scoreless, with OU narrowing the shot margin (18-7) after 90 minutes in the visitor's favor.

Neither team was able to muster a solid scoring chance in the first overtime period that saw OU fire two shots and CU just one. In the final OT session, CU managed three shots, but none of which were on goal. With her third shutout of the season, Wade's record improved to 7-4-3 overall after she came up with nine saves in the contest. The tie snapped CU's 11-game winning streak. The Buffs' record goes to 11-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in Big 12 play.

OU (7-4-3 / 2-2-2 Big 12) will now have a week to prepare for a pair of home contests. On Friday, Oct. 17, the Sooners take on Texas Tech at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Baylor comes to Norman for a 1 p.m. showdown.