Longhorns Edge Sooners in Big 12 Opener

Sept. 25, 2009

	1	2	OT/2OT	F
Texas	1	1	-	2
Oklahoma	0	1	-	1

Top Performers
Player	G	A	Shots	SOG
OU - Palmer	1	0	3	2
UT - Higgins	1	0	3	2

Goalkeepers
Player	Minutes	GA	Saves
OU-Devonshire (5-4-1)	90:00	2	6
UT - Gaul (3-3)	90:00	1	5

Game Notes
OU wore pink jerseys on Friday in honor of breast cancer awareness ... The 1,150 fans on hand Friday is the fourth largest crowd for an OU home game ... OU is 5-2 at home in 2009 ... The Sooners are 0-3 this season when trailing at the half (LSU, USC and Texas) ... Whitney Palmer is tied for third place all-time at OU for career goals scored with Savannah Scott (22 goals) ... Palmer's eight goals in 2009 is tied for third best all-time in a single season, tying her own mark set in 2008.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Whitney Palmer's eighth goal of the season was not enough on Friday night as OU dropped its Big 12 opener to visiting Texas, 2-1, in front of a season-high 1,150 fans at John Crain Field.

The loss moves OU's overall mark to 5-4-1 (0-1, Big 12) and Texas jumped to 4-5 and 1-0. The Sooners trailed 17-16 in shots but held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.

“It was a good fight on our team's part but we had an opportunity and we let it slip away,” said OU Head Coach Nicole Nelson, “They (Texas) should be commended for this performance, especially being a player down for most of the second half. We had a lot of good opportunities and we did not put them away.”

The Sooners trailed at the half for just the third time this season before Palmer tallied a score after halftime and moved into a tie for third place time at OU with 22 career goals scored. The junior forward has scored in six games this season and ranks second in the Big 12.

“Whitney is always a threat anytime she is near the ball in the attacking third,” added Nelson. “She's shown a lot of leadership throughout the year, more so this year than she ever has in the past.”

After allowing the equalizer just three minutes after intermission, Texas rallied with a goal in the 57th minute off the foot of Hannah Higgins.

The game appeared to turn in OU's favor in the 62nd minute as Texas' Kylie Doniak was removed from the game after being issued a red card, giving the Sooners' a one-man advantage for the remained of the contest.

The Sooners fired seven second shots in the second half to the Longhorns' four, but were unable to avoid falling behind to 5-8-1 in the all-time series with their Red River rival.

Kelsey Kraft had a game-high five shots in the contest for the Sooners, including two on goal.

“I was really happy with the performance of Kelsey Kraft tonight,” said Nelson. “It was probably the best game she has had all year. She gave us exactly what we needed.”

The Sooners look to bounce back on Sunday when they host No. 13 Texas A&M at 1 p.m. at the OU Soccer Complex. The Aggies (6-3, 1-0) came away with a 1-0 victory on Friday at Baylor. OU is 0-14 all-time against Texas A&M.