Bedlam Hands Sooners A Season-Ending Defeat

NORMAN, Okla.--The Sooners' season ended on Friday night to Oklahoma State (1-0) in front of an OU record 1,348 fans at John Crain Field for the annual Bedlam Series presented by the Bank of Oklahoma and Your Oklahoma Ford Dealers. Oklahoma State used a penalty kick in the 62nd minute to score the game's lone goal and the Cowgirls' win eliminated the Sooners from advancing to the 2004 Big 12 Tournament.

OU needed a win to advance to the Big 12 Tournament and a tie or loss put the Cowgirls into postseason play.

Box score

“This is a very disappointing loss and they (OSU) played a smart game tonight,” said Oklahoma head coach Randy Evans. “All they needed was a tie and they sat back and defended with a lot of people and I take my hat off to them for executing a good strategy.”

After a scoreless first half, the Sooners found themselves ahead in the shot count, 6-4. The Cowgirls applied immediate pressure in the second half, creating two chances on two OSU corner kicks. But the OU defense led by senior goalkeeper Catherine Wade contained the Cowgirls.

See how the Sooners stack up against OSU in the Bedlam Series presented by the Bank of Oklahoma and Your Oklahoma Ford Dealers!

Wade played 79 minutes before freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Nichols took over the duties in goal. Wade did not record a save in the game and allowed the goal on the penalty kick to Nikki Wojtowicz. The penalty kick was set up in the second half after an OSU player was taken down just inside the box.

OU did its best to battle back in the final 20 minutes of the game, creating two free kicks and a corner kick in a five-minute span. Freshman Allyson Kucera and junior Michelle Enos probably had the best chance to give OU a game-tying goal but could not find the back of the net. OSU goalkeeper Jeanne Ranking finished the night with three saves after facing 16 shots from OU. Nichols recorded the only save for the Sooners after she combined with Wade to face 10 shots from the Cowgirls.

OU junior Kristin Vesely led all players with five shots, while sophomore Savannah Scott and Kucera contributed three shots each.

“This is a disappointing end for the season for they way we have played and especially for the seniors to go out this way,” said Evans. “We have so much soccer left in us. It really hurts especially for all the players sitting on the sidelines hurt, because they can not impact the game.”

It was an unfortunate end for six OU seniors as Wade, Erin Young, Samantha Faulkner, Kirstin Karfonta, Abby Mann and Keara Jones were honored in a postgame ceremony for senior night. The group contributed to the program's first NCAA appearance in 2003, two Big 12 Tournament appearances and the program's first national top-25 ranking (2003).

OSU leads the all-time series, 7-1-1. Ever since the first meeting in 1996, each of the past eight contests have been decided by one goal or none and five of the games were sent to overtime.

“The first thing I told them after the game is the goal of any program is to get better every year,” added Evans. “On paper, we have taken a step back, but in every other aspect we have taken leaps forward. I am proud of the work ethic, attitude and level of commitment of this team and this has been one of my favorite years as a coach.”

OU concludes the 2004 season with a 7-8-3 overall record and a 3-7 mark in the Big 12.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Bedlam Hands Sooners A Season-Ending Defeat

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