Soccer Hands No. 16 Texas 2-1 Loss

NORMAN, Okla. After losing a halftime lead on Friday night against No. 3 Texas A&M, Oklahoma came back on Sunday to play 90 minutes of determined soccer, defeating No. 16 Texas, 2-1. It marked the Sooners' first Big 12 victory on the year and their first win over a ranked opponent this season. OU previously lost to No. 2 Notre Dame and Texas A&M.

'I was very proud of our girls,' commented Oklahoma head coach Randy Evans. 'Friday night we played probably the best half we could put together in the opening 45 minutes and we let it slip away on us. Today we came out with the same quality first half and remained solid in the second half to win this game.'

Texas got on the board first off a perfect header from Carrie Schmit on a Longhorn corner kick in the 29th minute from Ashley Foster. It was one of 12 chances from the corner for UT while OU did not attempt a corner kick.

Sophomore midfielder Lauren MacIver quickly countered on a beautifully executed give-and-go with Kristin Vesely. After Vesely passed the ball with her back to MacIver and UT's goal, MacIver blasted the ball hard to the far side of the net where UT's Dana Hall could not get a hand on it. The game-tying goal, MacIver's fourth of the season, came at the 34:10 mark and the two teams ended the half tied at one. UT held a slight advantage in shots throughout the first 45 minutes, 7-6.

Twenty-one minutes into the second half, OU once again put together a nice give-and-go, this time between Savannah Scott and Logan Womack. Scott scored the game-winner following a couple of crisp passes in UT's defensive zone, her second tally of the year.

'We put together some nice passes throughout the whole game,' said Scott. 'On my goal, Logan set me up and I was able to put it past the keeper.'

Said Evans, 'At halftime we knew they were going to make some changes and throw some different looks at us and sure enough they did, but we were anticipating the switches and it never rattled our system. Our ability to hold onto the ball and create the type of chances we did was the big difference in the game.'

Texas outshot the Sooners 22-12 in the game but OU's Catherine Wade responded by saving a season-high 10 shots. Wade and the Sooners improved to 6-3-1 on the season and 1-1-0 in Big 12 play. UT fell to 5-5 (0-1).

'Texas is a great team, they have some tremendous athletes and we had to be prepared to play,' said Evans. 'I could not be more proud for the effort we gave Friday night, and then to come back here a day-and-a-half later and put forth another great effort. We are always talking about how young this team is and today they showed tremendous maturity and played solid soccer to the final horn.'

OU will return to action on the road Friday, Oct. 3 against Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, at 7 p.m. and play again on Sunday, Oct. 5 against Missouri in Columbia, Mo., at 1 p.m.

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