University of Oklahoma Athletics
University of Oklahoma
Texas A&M
No. 8 Texas A&M Too Much For OU
September 29, 2006 | Soccer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Oklahoma's struggles against Texas A&M continued on Friday in College Station, as the No. 8 Aggies handed the Sooners a 6-1 defeat in front of 3,819 fans at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
OU has never defeated Texas A&M in 12 all-time meetings and dropped to 3-8 overall on the season and 0-4 in Big 12 play after Friday night's contest.
The Sooners' third straight loss gave the Aggies' their fifth consecutive win this season as they improve to 8-3-1 and 4-0 in Big 12 action.
“Texas A&M is a very good team,” said head coach Randy Evans. “Our plan tonight was to try and create a lot of scoring opportunities and put a lot of pressure on their defense. I felt like we accomplished that in the first half with Daphne's (Fitzpatrick) goal and a couple of other opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately, this was not a good match up for us and we ended up putting too much pressure on our own defense.”
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Texas A&M jumped on top with a goal in the ninth minute, but OU countered on its first shot of the game, a blast from freshman Daphne Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick's first career goal was set up off the far left wing by the Sooners' leading scorer this season, senior Kady Kelly, in the 16th minute of the first half.
In 2006, Kelly has a team best three goals, three assists and nine points.
Unfortunately for Oklahoma, the 1-1 tie was short lived as Texas A&M scored two goals in the next six minutes to take a 3-1 lead after the 22nd minute. The Texas A&M offense would score two more tallies before halftime to hold a 5-1 lead on the scoreboard en route to the 6-1 victory.
Junior goalkeeper Jennifer Nichols (3-8) made four saves on the night for Oklahoma opposite Texas A&M's two saves made by Kristin Arnold and Julie Spearink.
Texas A&M finished the contest with a 31-5 advantage in the shot count and a 15-0 lead in corner kicks.
The Sooners will look to end their three-game skid with another match up with a top 10 team this weekend. OU will play at No. 10 Texas on Sunday, Oct. 1 and the contest will be televised live on ESPNU with Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Wendy Palladino (color) providing the on-air talent. The game is the second national television appearance for the Oklahoma soccer program. The Sooners lost 2-1 last year in Nebraska and that game was broadcast live by College Sports Television (CSTV).
“I still have a lot of confidence in this group,” added Evans. “And we feel like Sunday is a great opportunity to show everyone watching that we are better than our record indicates.”
