OU Back on Road at OSU, ISU

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Iowa State

at Oklahoma State / Thursday / 7 p.m. CT / ESPN+ / LIVE STATS / TICKETS
vs. Iowa State / Sunday / 1 p.m. CT / ESPN+ / LIVE STATS

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma soccer team (4-9-1) returns home to John Crain Field for a pair of matches this weekend after playing six of its last eight games on the road. The Sooners meet the Kansas Jayhawks (7-8-1) Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT prior to a 1 p.m. contest Sunday afternoon against Kansas State (6-6-2). Both games will be available to watch on Bally Sports Oklahoma and tickets are still available via SoonerSports.com/tickets or can be purchased at the gate on game day.

Thursday's match will serve as this season's Mental Health Awareness match in conjunction with the OU Athletics Department's Psychological Resources for OU Student-Athletes office. Green 'Mental Health Matters' wristbands will be available to the first 50 fans.
Thursday's game will also be Hispanic Heritage Night at John Crain Field with free 'Vamos Sooners!' shirts available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Sunday's match will be the team's annual 'Pink Game', supporting breast cancer awareness. Pink hand clappers will be available to the first 200 fans in the gate.

STORYLINES

LAST TIME OUT

The Sooners enter the weekend off back-to-back conference wins over Kansas and Kansas State in Norman. Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week Megan Reilly led the Sooners to the win over KU, scoring two goals, while conference freshman of the week Leonie Weber scored the game-winner on a back-heel beauty. Bri Amos and Lexi Strickland scored goals for the Sooners in Sunday's 2-1 win over K-State.

MAINTAINING MOMENTUM

The Sooners have shown improvement in the 2021 campaign and sit at 6-9-1 heading into the final three matches of the season. The team has tallied 23 goals, compared to seven in 2020. In addition, the team has threatened offensively, averaging 12.9 shots per game. The Sooners are efficient in their attempts on net, putting 46 percent of their shots on frame. Seniors Bri Amos, Megan Reilly and Jazzy Richards share the team lead with four goals. Senior keeper Nikki Panas has been a force in goal for the Sooners in 2021, making 68 saves.

REILLY, WEBER COLLECT BIG 12 HONORS

Senior Megan Reilly and freshman Leonie Weber collected Big 12 weekly honors for their performances last week, the Big 12 announced Tuesday.

Reilly was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week after recording her second brace of the season Thursday in OU's 3-2 victory over KU. The senior scored two goals, heading one in and successfully converting a penalty kick for the other, to help lead the Sooners to their first Big 12 win of the season. Reilly was efficient in the match, finding the back of the net on two of her four shots. The Sugar Land, Texas, product collected four points in the match and helped the Sooners to back-to-back wins with their victory over Kansas State on Sunday. She is tied for the team lead in goals with four.

Weber also assisted OU to a 2-0 week, scoring one exceptional goal versus Kansas and recording an assist against Kansas State. Weber's beautiful back-heel goal on Thursday was placed perfectly across goal on the flick coming off an OU corner. The goal was the eventual game-winner, coming in the 86th minute, and was featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 at No. 5 on Thursday night. Weber's assist on Sunday tallied her third point of the week, getting the assist off a deflection in the six-yard box that OU senior Alexis Strickland was able to convert. Thursday's goal marked Weber's third of the season and her assist Sunday was her second in 2021.

The two honors mark OU's first Big 12 weekly accolades of the 2021 fall season..

CARR WELCOMES 13 FRESHMEN

Carr will look to his first full recruiting class of 13 freshmen to make an impact on and off the field this season. The 13 signees come to Norman from all over the world, with seven domestic players and six internationals.

"We have high expectations for OU soccer and the 2021 class will be expected to impact the program right away and provide immediate competition," Carr said on his freshman class. "Here at OU, we love and embrace competition as we know this will only bring out the best in all of us. By adding this class to our core group of returners, the future is bright for soccer here at OU."

Seven of the 13 freshmen have played for the Sooners, with Weber, Ella Pappas and Sheridan Michel all tallying points for OU. Pappas scored the game-winning golden goal in double overtime to beat Nebraska with an assist going to Michel.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR

OU soccer is quickly making a name for itself as a haven for international prospects and coaches to cement their places at the top of college soccer in America. All three members of the Sooner coaching staff are from other nations, with Carr coming from England, Gough from Wales and Bard-Martel from Canada. But the international flair in Norman reaches far beyond the touchline.

A total of seven student-athletes have elected to call Norman home, including six first-year students. Freshman forward Leo Weber was named one of Top Drawer Soccer's top international players to watch this season, while Canadian prospects Sheridan Michel, Keera Melenhorst and Nikki Panas spent time in the Canadian youth national team program. Muriel Kroflin joins Carr's 2021 class from Langenargen, Germany, where she spent her youth leading SC Freiburg to Bundesliga titles and playing on the German youth national squad. Norweigan players Une Hebnes Georgsen and Andrine Westlie round out OU's international group, with Georgsen starting in net for the Norweigan youth national team at the U17 UEFA women's qualifiers, while Westlie led Bærum SK and the league in scoring after making her debut at 14.

DIFFERENCE-MAKING TRANSFERS

Carr didn't just retool his roster with a large freshman class but also utilized the transfer portal to bring three ACC student-athletes to Norman.

Makala Thomas spent three seasons at Florida State, helping the Seminoles to the 2018 national championship and playing in 29 games in her time at FSU. Alexis Strickland joins the Sooners from perennial powerhouse North Carolina, where she played in 27 games for the Tar Heels as a freshman before not appearing last season. The final transfer in 2021 is Molly Feighan, who played 16 games last season at Virginia Tech and started all 19 games as a junior in 2019. All three players can play any position in the attacking third for Carr's side.

They join Erika Middleton (Miami), Sakky Yoshida (Oregon), Bri Amos (Kansas) and Olivia Odle (Virginia Tech) as transfers into the OU program.

LED BY THE SENIORS

Despite such a large group of newcomers, the Sooners' leadership comes in the form of their 12 seniors who have combined for nearly 25,000 minutes played at the Division I level. Lauren Haivala, Jazzy Richards and Erika Middleton are all familiar names for Sooner fans, playing in over 100 matches for the Crimson & Cream.

UP NEXT

The Sooners conclude the regular season at home with Senior Night, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., versus Baylor.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma Soccer, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_WSoccer) and like Oklahoma Soccer on Facebook.