Sooners Ready For Road Bedlam, Home Opener

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Aug. 28 | 7 p.m. CT | Stillwater, Okla.

Oklahoma vs. Little Rock
Aug. 30 | 1 p.m. CT | Norman, Okla.

Live Stats (at OSU)

Live Stats (vs. UALR)

OKState.com (at OSU)

SoonerSports.tv (vs. UALR)

Notes

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Player to Watch
Marissa McMahand // Fr. // MF Coming off the bench, McMahand tallied the Sooners' first goal of 2015, doing so in the 89th minute at Furman on Aug. 21. McMahand's goal knotted the score at 1-1 and forced overtime. The Round Rock, Texas, native has played a total of 39 minutes and leads OU with four shots, including two on goal.

NORMAN — The Oklahoma soccer team will play two matches this weekend, starting with a non-conference meeting at rival Oklahoma State before welcoming Little Rock to John Crain Field. Friday's Bedlam battle will begin at 7 p.m. CT, and Sunday's contest is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start.

SOONER NOTEBOOK: WEEK TWO

1. THE RETURN OF BEDLAM
Friday's match against Oklahoma State marks the first Bedlam Series opener across all sports in 2015. The non-conference contest will be the first of two showdowns between the Sooners and the Cowgirls this season, with the second taking place in Norman on Oct. 30. Last season's first Bedlam matchup was a memorable one for OU: the Sooners knocked off OSU 2-0 in Norman to open the 2014 slate.

2. YOUTHFUL ROSTER
Of the 20 student-athletes who competed for the Sooners last weekend, 12 were freshmen or sophomores. Underclassmen who appeared for OU on opening weekend were true freshmen Marissa McMahand (MF), Paige Welch (D/MF), Emily Parker (F), Angela Boyle (D) and Kaylee Dao (F/MF) and sophomores Rasha Roberts (MF/D), Chelsea Jackson (F), Tori Bowman (MF), Anna Crawford (MF/D), Jordyn Knox-Webster (D/F), Lizzie Luallin (MF) and Madeline Brem (D).

3. NEWCOMERS MAKE AN EARLY IMPACT
In 2015, the Sooners have recorded two goals, both coming off the feet of two players new to wearing the Crimson and Cream. Against Furman, freshman midfielder Marissa McMahand knotted the game at 1-1 with a goal in the 89th minute. Junior Liz Keester, who is in her first season at OU after transferring from Texas A&M, recorded a score against South Carolina in the 86th minute.

4. SOONERS AT JOHN CRAIN FIELD
Oklahoma will make its season debut at John Crain Field in the OU Soccer Complex on Sunday when it takes on Little Rock. In 2014, OU posted a 5-4-2 mark in Norman, including victories over Oklahoma State, then-No. 6 Florida, Central Arkansas, Oral Roberts and then-No. 14 Kansas. OU is 87-65-17 all-time when playing at home.

5. FOLLOW IT LIVE
Sooner Sports TV, powered by FOX Sports, will air all nine of OU's home matches live this year. Sunday's match against Little Rock will be live streamed on SoonerSports.tv. KREF radio (98.5 FM, 1400 AM) will also air the game live. Chad McKee will be on the call alongside former Sooner Carrie Whigham on the webcast, while Chris Plank will call the action and will be joined by another Sooner in Abby Hodgen on the radio.

Friday's road Bedlam match will be available to watch through OKState.com.

SCOUTING REPORTS

Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State started the season with a 2-0 shutout victory against Mercer on Sunday. The Cowgirls fired 26 shots, including 11 on goal, in the contest. Sophomore midfielder Holly Brehmer and freshman forward Haley Woodard both tallied their first career goals.

The Cowgirls are coming off a 2014 season where they went 10-10-1 overall and made a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. OSU returns 10 starters from that squad, including All-Big 12 performers Courtney Dike (F), Madison Mercado (F), Allie Stephenson (MF) and Natalie Calhoun (D).

Little Rock
In the first weekend of the 2015 season, Little Rock split its matches, winning at Tennessee Tech by a score of 2-1 before falling at Belmont, 1-0. Sophomore forward Quin Wilkes scored in the 77th minute of the Trojan win before freshman midfielder Jaclyn Purvine sent in the game-winning goal with just over a minute to go.

In 2014, the Trojans enjoyed their best season in program history, finishing with an 11-8-1 overall record. This year's squad returns seven players and welcomes 20 newcomers to the roster.