Completed Event: Soccer versus Northwestern State on August 12, 2026 , Win , 9, to, 0
Final
Soccer
9
vs Northwestern State
0
University of Oklahoma Athletics
One to Remember
November 19, 2014 | Soccer
You might have seen it here or there.
Emblazoned on the team poster. On the backs of warm-up t-shirts. On the tweets of Oklahoma soccer players.
#EVERYDAY
It was the team motto for 2014, selected by the team just before preseason workouts began in August. It had been a tough offseason, and the team had been worked hard, challenged to embrace new heights of fitness and competitiveness after a disappointing season in 2013.
You see, when most folks think of success, they think of the big moments: knocking off a ranked team, hearing your name called on selection day, banners hanging from rafters, hoisting a trophy above your head.
But for Oklahoma, success had to come from somewhere else. A small place inside, where an individual chooses to embrace the grind and work hard; not only for the big moments, but every single day.
Every day.
The team's focus remained internal, using doubt as fuel. Picked last in the Big 12 preseason poll? No problem.
Oklahoma came out swinging to start the season, shutting out Oklahoma State in Bedlam by a final margin of 2-0. Goals from Rachel Ressler and Devin Barrett led the way for OU in a win that marked the 100th career victory for head coach Matt Potter.
"Those victories belong to the student-athletes and the staffs I've worked with," Potter said after the win. "I've had the privilege of coaching. It's not about me, it's about a group of people and it will always be that way to me.”
After a 1-1 tie with Utah on Friday, OU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Fahrner earned her first Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award (one goal allowed, nine saves), while Lizzie Luallin was named Newcomer of the Week (one goal, one assist).
The impressive performances just kept coming: a 2-1 win over No. 6 Florida. A narrow 1-0 loss to No. 2 Florida State, then victories over No. 16 Nebraska (2-1), Central Arkansas (5-0) and North Texas (2-1).
The nation had taken notice, as OU broke into the national rankings for the first time since 2005 on Sept. 5, then climbed to the highest rank in program history at No. 15 (NSCAA). Fahrner captured another Big 12 weekly award, and at 5-1-2, Oklahoma was off to its best start since 2005.
But, as it is apt to do, adversity struck. On a cold, slick and blustery night at North Texas, the Sooners lost starting forward Caren Nelson to a knee injury. Adjustment pains set in as the team worked to adapt, tying Tulsa 0-0 before dropping back-to-back matches in California to San Diego and UC-Irvine.
It was the first time all season that OU had lost two in a row, and it marked a crucial point in the fall: would the Sooners give up? Or would the program respond to the challenge, pulling together and digging in when times got tough?
Get back to your roots. Every day.
OU chose the latter. The Sooners returned home and shut out Oral Roberts 1-0, then went on the road in Big 12 play and knocked off No. 10 Texas Tech (1-0) and Iowa State (1-0) for three wins in a row. The victories marked the first time since 2005 that OU had opened conference play with two straight shutout wins.
After the wins, Laura Rayfield was named conference Newcomer of the Week, while Fahrner captured Defensive Player of the Week honors and was named national player of the week by CollegeSportsMadness.com and College Soccer 360.
The challenges weren't over yet for OU. A 1-1 tie with TCU in mid-October was followed by a four-match losing skid during a crucial stretch in Big 12 play, throwing OU's postseason hopes into jeopardy. A 3-1 loss to No. 10 West Virginia on Oct. 26 marked the first time all season OU had allowed more than two goals and put the Sooners at 8-7-3 overall.
Oklahoma's regular season finale on Oct. 31 carried plenty of weight. It was a match against No. 14 Kansas that the Sooners needed for momentum, favorable Big 12 Soccer Championship seeding and keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
More than that, though, it was a final chance to honor a senior class (Emily Bowman, Abby Hodgen and Molly Richey) that “meant everything” to its team.
The Sooners came out tight at first, battling at the midfield, trying to establish position. Then, it clicked. A strong defensive effort found its footing and OU shut out Kansas, netting a goal on a penalty kick from Rasha Roberts to seal the 1-0 win.
Playing for its seniors, the squad couldn't be rattled. It was a theme that stuck with them for the rest of the season.
After the victory, Fahrner (Defensive Player of the Week) and Roberts (Newcomer of the Week) each earned Big 12 weekly honors. With their awards, Oklahoma finished the season with eight conference weekly honors, the most in program history and tying WVU for the conference lead.
OU earned the No. 6 overall seed and a rematch with Kansas in the first round of tournament action. The squad had found its groove again, marching past the 18th-ranked Jayhawks for the team's fifth win over a ranked opponent and a quarterfinal win. Both Tori Bowman and Madeline Brem netted goals for Oklahoma in the 2-1 victory.
The Sooners continued defying the odds in their semifinal match. After battling for 110 minutes for a 0-0 tie with Baylor, the match proceeded to penalty kicks—the first time since 2010 OU had gone to PKs in a contest.
Brem, Rayfield and Roberts each punched in PKs for Oklahoma and Baylor missed three of its five attempts to help the Sooners advance to the championship final.
Oklahoma had defied the odds in nearly every way. With its appearance in the final, OU became the first team in conference history to finish the previous season in last and advance to the title match in the following year. The Sooners were also only the second team in Big 12 history to be picked last in the preseason poll and advance to the championship final.
Oklahoma played neck-in-neck with No. 10 WVU for two halves but couldn't quite eke out a win, falling by a score of 1-0 to narrowly miss an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship field of 64.The Sooners would have to wait until Monday to determine their NCAA fates.
Sitting in the theater room of Headington Hall, OU heard the names of 60 other programs announced on the selection show as nerves ran high and the end of the show drawing near. Finally, the words “Oklahoma Sooners” were announced and the room erupted in cheers.
Oklahoma had earned its first NCAA bid since 2010, making the field of 64 for only the third time in program history. Better yet, the match would be held in Norman, marking the first-ever NCAA match at John Crain Field.
The night of the match was a frigid one in Norman, but the Sooners came out on fire. Ressler became the first Oklahoma team member in program history to score in an NCAA match, giving OU a 1-0 lead in the first five minutes of play on a ball from Abby Hodgen. The Sooners struck again just minutes later when Chelsea Jackson sent in a deflected shot from Hodgen, putting Oklahoma up 2-0.
Arkansas battled back, cutting OU's lead to 2-1 with a goal late in the first half and adding an equalizer in the second to send the match to overtime. The decisive goal came quickly to the first OT period on an Arkansas shot that was nearly saved, but determined to have crossed the line before it could be contained.
It was an ending that felt too soon, but couldn't mar the undeniable leap that the Sooners made in 2014. In a year highlighted by a triumphant return to the NCAA tournament, Oklahoma captured a program-best six All-Big 12 awards (Newcomer team: Luallin, Rayfield; Tournament team: Barrett, Brem, Hodgen, Rayfield), achieved its best ranking in program history and knocked off five ranked teams.
It was a season to remember, but even better: it is only the beginning.
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/ SoccerSunday, August 16
Wednesday, August 12
Sunday, October 19
Thursday, October 02
