Oklahoma Shuts Down Arkansas 3-0

NORMAN, Okla. -- The OU soccer team defeated Arkansas 3-0 on Sunday at John Crain Field to improve to 2-0 on the young season. In seven all-time meetings against the Lady'Backs, OU is a perfect 7-0, including three shutouts.

The Sooners were coming off a 2-1 overtime victory on Friday at Saint Louis. On Sunday, the OU defense was stellar for the second consecutive game and received more than enough offense to put together the victory.

“We tried a couple different things (offensively) in the first half to initiate our attack and we were inconsistent,” said OU head coach Randy Evans. “But we came out in the second half and knew exactly what would work well and that was evident in our play. We were all on the same page trying to accomplish the same thing. That really showed today (in the final 45 minutes) as we created a lot of scoring chances and scored some great goals.”

Box Score: OU 3, Arkansas 0 | Updated 2005 Stats

Sophomore Allyson Kucera scored the game's first two goals and junior Savannah Scott added the third goal in a contest that OU dominated the shot count, 18-4.

“There is a reason why Ally is on field and that is because she is worth a goal a game,” said Evans. “She is either scoring goals or preventing the other team from putting the ball in the back of the net. She was definitely our player of the game today.”

Kucera got the scoring started in the 15th minute off a blast that got past Arkansas goalkeeper Carrie Dillsaver, after the goalie was screened by one of her own defenders. The shot from 25 yards out gave Kucera her first goal of the season and fifth in her career. Sophomore Lauren Harris assisted on the goal, her first helper of the season.

After holding a 9-2 advantage in the shot column in the first session, the Sooners came out firing in the second half. Again it was Kucera putting OU on the board with a goal scored with less than a minute played in the second half (45:56). Kucera headed in a perfectly placed cross from sophomore Shana All, who collected her first assist of 2005 on one of the Sooners four corner kicks. The Sooners held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks on Sunday.

Less than five minutes later, Scott capped off the Sooners' scoring with another goal scored on a head ball at the 50:23 mark. This time senior captain Lauren MacIver got involved in the scoring with the her first assist of the season to Scott (1).

Not to be overshadowed by the offense's solid play, the OU defense recorded its first shutout of the year. Just two nights earlier, Arkansas's offense racked up five goals against Tulsa on the road.

“The defense had another great day,” added Evans. “Their organization is getting better and had an overall great weekend. To hold Saint Louis to one goal (Friday) and then record a shutout two days later against a quality team that scored five goals on Friday night, is a nice accomplishment for this group.”

The game marked the first collegiate shutout for sophomore goalkeeper Jennifer Nichols. The Tulsa, Okla., native had the luxury of facing four shots and making two saves against Arkansas. Nichols' opposition, Dillsaver, collected eight saves in the contest.

The defense's performance marked the fewest shots recorded by an OU opponent since the Sooners held Drury to four shots on Sept. 6, 2002.

OU will return to action on Friday, Sept. 2 in the First Annual Big 12/Big Ten Challenge at Wisconsin. The Sooners will then travel to Iowa to battle the Hawkeyes in the final game of the challenge on Sunday. The weekend will mark the first ever games played against a school from the Big Ten Conference for the OU soccer program.

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