Big 12 Tournament to Feature Bedlam Battle

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma soccer team is set for postseason play as the Big 12 Tournament kicks off Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. The eighth-seeded Sooners will face top-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round at 11:30 a.m. CT. The match will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT
In the final game of the regular season, the Sooners took on Texas at John Crain Field. Freshman Maya McCutcheon and sophomore Jazzy Richards each tallied a goal in regulation, helping send the Sooners to a program-record 10^th overtime game. With just over two minutes to go in the final overtime period, Texas found the game-winner to earn the 3-2 victory. The Sooners finished Big 12 play with a 3-5-1 record, earning the final spot in the Big 12 tournament as a result.

TOURNEY TIME
For the second season, the Big 12 Tournament will be played over the span of two weekends. Quarterfinal matches will be held Nov. 3, with semifinals being played Nov. 8 and the championship match slated for Nov. 10. All games will be played at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo. The Sooners open play against No. 1 and Big 12 Champion Oklahoma State.

BEDLAM PART THREE
For the third time in 2019, the Sooners and Cowgirls will meet on the pitch. In the first edition of Bedlam played at John Crain Field, senior Kaylee Dao led OU to an incredible comeback as the two teams played to a 2-2 draw on Aug. 29. On Oct. 25, the Sooners traveled to Stillwater, Okla., falling 3-1 to the eventual Big 12 Champions. OU is one of just three teams in 2019 to score more than one goal in a game on the Cowgirls defense this season. This will be the second time in three years that the two teams have met in the postseason. In 2017, the teams also met in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament with OSU prevailing, 2-1.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Kaylee Dao has broken her way into the OU record books this season. With 13 goals on the year, the Tulsa, Okla., native is just two goals away from tying the single-season record of 15 set by Whitney Palmer in 2009. Dao has brought her career total to 29 to rank third-all time in program history. Her five game-winning goals in 2019 and 11 career game winners rank second all-time.

UNDERCLASSMEN DEPTH DISPLAYED
The Sooners have showcased their depth this season with 25 players seeing action. Of those 25, 17 are underclassmen and nine are freshmen. Freshman Jordan Lund has started all 19 games this season, with fellow freshman Sydney Sheehan appearing in all 19 and starting 18. Freshman Jordan Lund has started all 18 games this season for OU and has played the fifth-most minutes at 1440. Maya McCutcheon has been the leading goal scorer for the underclassmen, notching a trio of goals in 2019. Lund has added a a pair of assists, while Caroline Berutti has an assist of her own.

ON THE BOARD
With the regular season wrapped up, the Sooners have only been shut out five times all season. In the last two seasons, OU has only been shut out eight times, a huge turnaround from the 2017 season when OU failed to score in 11 games. OU has also tallied at least two goals in eight of 19 games, an increase from 2018 when OU only netted two or more goals in five games.

DAO NAMED SENIOR CLASS FINALIST
Kaylee Dao has been chosen as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award in college soccer. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

A two-time All-Big 12 first team honoree and 2018 All-Region second team honoree, Dao has started every game for the Sooners this season. Through 17 games, Dao leads the team with 13 goals, including five game winners and three penalty kick conversions. She has moved in to third all-time in OU history with 29 career goals and second all-time with 11 game winners.

Dao completed her undergraduate degree with a double major in environmental sustainability and social sciences and organizational studies in Aug. 2019. A redshirt senior, she is working toward a master's degree in human relations and currently boasts a 4.0 GPA.

SCOUTING REPORT

OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State claimed its seventh Big 12 Championship and fourth regular season title Thursday night with a 3-0 victory over Baylor. Oklahoma State has won seven games in a row for a 14-1-3 mark in the regular season and a 7-1-1 conference record. OSU's lone loss on the year was to second-seeded Texas Tech. OSU was picked to finish seventh in the league standings after not qualifying for the conference tournament in 2018.

OSU has notched 45 goals on the year while allowing just 12. Grace Yochum leads the team with 11 goals on the season, but five total players have notched at least five goals in 2019. Jaci Jones, who has six goals of her own, leads the Cowgirls with 11 assists. Dani Greenlee has been the primary goalkeeper, allowing just nine goals and posting a 10-1-3 record with five shutouts.

UP NEXT

The semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament are slated for Friday, Nov. 8, in Kansas City, Mo. If the Sooners defeat OSU, they would face the winner of the West Virginia/Kansas matchup at 4:30 p.m. CT.