Sooners Open Big 12 Play in Fort Worth

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma soccer team opens Big 12 play this weekend with a pair of matches. The Sooners will head to Fort Worth, Texas to take on TCU Thursday at 7 p.m. CT before facing Texas Tech on Sunday in Lubbock at 1 p.m. CT.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS
With non-conference play wrapped up, the Sooners will open Big 12 play in the Lone Star State. OU is undefeated in three of its last five Big 12 openers, defeating Texas Tech in 2014 and TCU in 2016. In 2015, OU and Texas Tech played to a scoreless draw. OU will play four of its nine Big 12 matches at home with Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor and Texas coming to Norman. The Sooners will play TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma State on the road.

A LOOK BACK
In 2018, the Sooners faced Texas Tech and TCU at home, going 0-1-1 against the two teams. On Sept. 28, The Sooners and Red Raiders played to a scoreless draw in Norman. McKinley Crone made six saves on the night to keep Tech of the scoreboard. Against TCU on Oct. 5, the Sooners once again found themselves in overtime. Despite outshooting TCU, it was the Horned Frogs who came away with the 1-0 victory in double overtime.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Sooners are no strangers to road games in 2019 as they have played six of their 10 non-conference matches away from Norman. OU has put together a 3-2-1 record on the road, including two overtime victories. The Sooners have been shut out just once on an opponent's turf as they played to a scoreless draw at Nebraska on Sept. 13.

THE WEEKEND RECAP
OU split its final weekend of non-conference play, falling to SMU on Thursday night before rebounding to defeat Houston on Sunday. Against SMU, the Sooners came back form 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to tie the game and send it to overtime. After a missed OU penalty kick that would have ended the game, the Mustangs found the golden goal to hand OU its first overtime loss of the year. On Sunday, Yuuka Kurosaki notched the game winner to lead the Sooners to a 2-1 victory over the Cougars. The five wins in non-conference play are the most for the Sooners since winning seven in 2016.

LONE STAR SOONERS
Almost half the Sooner squad will be making a trip to their home state this weekend as 14 players hail from the state of Texas. Of those 14, Caroline Berutti, Taylor Tufts, Hailey Davidson, Maya McCutcheon, Lauren Tovy, Megan McClay and Jackie Stacy are all from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

ON THE HORIZON
The Sooners will return to John Crain Field for their longest stretch at home as they host three consecutive conference matches. OU will host Kansas State on Oct. 3, Kansas on Oct. 10 and Baylor on Oct. 13.

SCOUTING REPORT

TCU
The Horned Frogs enter conference play with a 6-3 record and a 3-1 record at home. The two teams have a pair of common opponents in SMU and Arizona. TCU topped SMU, 1-0 and fell to Arizona, 4-3, to wrap up non-conference action. The Horned Frogs have a six-game winning streak this season but have dropped their last two matches.

Gracie Brian leads the team with six goals and three assists, followed by Messiah Bright's five goals and five assists. TCU has notched 23 goals this season and held opponents to just 11. In goal, Emily Alvarado has played 765 minutes and made 36 saves.

TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech enters league action at the top of the conference with an 8-1 overall record. The Red Raiders have won seven-straight games, including taking down then-No. 22 South Florida on the road, 2-1. Kirsten Davis currently leads the league with 10 goals on the season and five assists for 25 points.

Texas Tech has scored 27 goals on the year while allowing just six. Marissa Zucchetto has notched 23 saves and allowed five goals to boast a 7-1-0 record on the season.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will return to Norman to face Kansas State on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.