OU Defeats Tulsa In Oklahoma Shootout

TULSA, Okla. The University of Oklahoma soccer team (3-1-2), fresh off its first loss of the season on Friday, rebounded for a 3-1 victory over the University of Tulsa (1-5) at Golden Hurricane Stadium on Sunday.

The Sooners struck first with junior Becky Nelson's second goal in four games on an unassisted blast from 15 yards out at the 21:53 mark.

“Friday was a tough loss with us outplaying ORU, but that is the nature of the game,” said Oklahoma head coach Randy Evans. “Today, we just knew that we had to keep playing the way we have been playing. We dominated again today and I don't think the score reflected how solid of a game we played.”

Box score

The Sooners added to their first half lead when freshman Shana All registered her team-leading fifth assist of the season on a cross that fellow freshman Tenesha Duncan headed past Tulsa goalkeeper Pam Devore. The tally, scored in the 35th minute, marked the first of Duncan's collegiate career.

With the game in hand after 45 minutes of action, the OU offense struck again early in the second half.

Just 5:21 into the second session, the Sooners extended their lead to three goals on sophomore Savannah Scott's second tally of the season. Scott was all alone, with Tulsa goalkeeper Meredith Hart, after freshman defender Lauren Harris set her up for the score from 10 yards out. The assist was the first of Harris' collegiate career.

“The freshmen are gaining experience and it is exciting to see,” said Evans. “They made a huge impact in this game on the scoring sheet and I expect to see that trend to continue.”

OU led the shot count throughout the game, controlling the ball a majority of the 90 minutes, and outshot the Golden Hurricane, 17-11. The OU defense only allowed one goal in the contest, when Tulsa got on the board in the 87th minute off a deflection that Katie Nirider knocked in for the score. It was just the fifth goal in six games that the Sooners have allowed in 2004.

Senior goalkeeper Catherine Wade made her sixth start of the season, making three saves in the first half and recording four more in the second half for her second complete game of the season. Wade is 2-0-0 on the season with one shutout and two goals allowed.

OU is 3-0-2 this season when it scores first and the Sooners have outscored their opponents 13-6 in their six contests. Meanwhile, OU won its third straight against Tulsa and improved to 4-2 lifetime against the Golden Hurricane. The Sooners have outscored the Golden Hurricane 13-8 in the team's six meetings.

The Sooners went 1-1 in the Oklahoma Shootout by defeating Tulsa after dropping an overtime match to Oral Roberts on Friday (1-0). For their play over the weekend, freshman Lauren Harris, senior Erin Young and sophomore Kady Kelly were named to the All-Tournament team.

The Sooners will hit the road again next weekend for the Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., when they face San Diego State on Friday, Sept. 17 and Arizona State on Sunday. The weekend contests mark the fourth and fifth consecutive road games for OU. It will return home for the Big 12 opener against Missouri on Sept. 24.

“I think as long as we play on a surface similar to ours, we will be a good road team,” said Evans. “We have identified that scoring is the area we have to work on. This team has been creating scoring opportunities but we just need to find a way to put those chances in the back of the net.”

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