OU Drops Road Contest with Toreros

#19 Oklahoma

San Diego

Stat Comparison
Category	OU	USD
Shots	5	7
Shots on Goal	2	3
Corners	4	5
Fouls	7	11

Scoring Summary
Player	Assist	Time
USD: Mariah Butera	Tara Meier	40:56
USD: Jacey Birtcher	Nikki Pappalardo, McKenna Tollack	84:25

OU Goalkeepers
Player	Mins	GA	S
OU: Kaitlyn Fahrner	45:00	1	0
OU: Kassidie Stade	45:00	1	1
SDU: McKenna Tollack	90:00	0	2

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The 19th-ranked Oklahoma soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to San Diego on Sunday afternoon, capping a tough weekend of non-conference play in California. The Sooners (5-3-2) struggled to create and utilize offensive opportunities against the Toreros (3-4-2), surrendering both goals in the late minutes of each half.

Oklahoma pressed the Toreros early in the first half, including a shot right off the bat in the 4th minute of play from forward Devin Barrett. After a corner kick from USD minutes later, both teams battled to find a rhythm as they exchanged fouls near the midfield line.

San Diego began to put OU on its heels as the half wore on, beginning with a corner kick and subsequent header shot in the 30th minute of play. A pair of fouls took away favorable opportunities for Oklahoma to press back late in the half. A foul on the Sooners' end in the 40th minute set up a free kick for USD that was sent to Mariah Butera, who booted in a long goal to put San Diego up 1-0 with the final minutes of the first half ticking off the clock.

OU staved off early pressure from the USD offense to open the second half. Goalkeeper Kassidie Stade took over duties in the second half, making a save in the 59th minute to keep the Toreros off the board. A subsequent shot was blocked, and the Sooner defense cleared out a pair of corner kicks to avoid surrendering a second goal.

Oklahoma began to find some offensive rhythm as the second half wore on, but USD's defense prevented the Sooners from snagging an equalizing goal. A shot from freshman Chelsea Jackson sailed high and wide of the goal, and a solid shot from Lizzie Luallin was saved by San Diego.

The Sooners got a chance to utilize their skill on set pieces late in the 81st minute with a pair of back-to-back corners. A resulting header from OU was blocked to prevent any true threat on goal, and the second corner was cleared away.

USD posted its second goal of the game minutes later in the 84th on a crossing ball from Nikki Pappalardo and McKenna Tollack that was sent in by Jacey Birtcher. The ball slid past Stade, who was unable to make the save on a dive, and pushed the Toreros' lead to 2-0.

Abby Hodgen fired a shot on goal in the 86th minute that was saved, and OU's final shot at the goal was ended with a foul as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

This weekend marks the first time this season the Sooners have dropped back-to-back contests.

Oklahoma will close its non-conference slate next weekend at home, facing Oral Roberts at John Crain Field. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start on Friday, Sept. 26, with a live broadcast available on FS Oklahoma and FCSA.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Devin Barrett

Kaitlyn Fahrner

Abby Hodgen

Chelsea Jackson

Lizzie Luallin

Kassidie Stade

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics