Soccer Wins Finale on Golden Goal

Saturday, April 17

Norman

1 PM

University of Oklahoma

1-12-2, 0-9-1

Kansas State

3-9-2, 2-6-0

Kansas St.

Oklahoma

April 17, 2021 | Soccer

Box Score Photos Highlights

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN – After taking a season-high 20 shots, the Oklahoma soccer team finally broke through in the 108th minute when Cailey England scored a golden goal to give the Sooners a win in the season finale, knocking off Kansas State 1-0.

The win marks the first of first-year head coach Mark Carr's Sooner career and sends the team into the offseason with growing momentum.

"Every bit of the credit goes to our student-athletes," Carr said after the win. "I just told them in the team huddle that there are so many moments along the road that they could've quit and said that it was too hard, and they never did. It's a credit to them for showing up every day and grinding. They're committed to the process, and they finally got rewarded for it."

The Sooners controlled the match from wire to wire, outshooting the Wildcats 20-6 on the afternoon and taking five more corner kicks than K-State.

"It was a really dominant performance from us from start to finish," Carr added. "They had some really good chances, but the stats speak for themselves. It's a win in the last game of the year that'll give us some good momentum as we move ahead. We know that we're going to get better, and I'm just really proud of our team."

Oklahoma poured into the attacking third all afternoon, earning 72 percent of the possession in the match. The Sooners took a corner with 30 seconds left in regulation, and Megan Reilly put a shot on net, but the K-State goalkeeper Peyton Pearson collected her seventh save of the match.

Multiple OU chances in front of net skidded above the bar or just outside the post, sending the match into golden-goal overtime after 90 minutes.

The two sides traded chances in the overtime frames, with Leah Radow and the Sooners' backline clearing a K-State threat off a corner in the 102nd minute. But as time began to wind down, the Sooners continued to press for a winner.

The pivotal moment came in the 108th minute when K-State turned the ball over near midfield. Bri Amos tracked a pass down the sideline at John Crain Field and played it across the top of the box to Megan Reilly, who collected the ball and fired a shot on the net. Reilly's shot was blocked by the Wildcat backline but deflected straight onto the boot of Cailey England, who buried her first collegiate goal to end the Sooners' season on a high note.

"That just epitomizes who Cailey is as a player and to the program," Carr said. "She just goes and goes and is persistent. She always shows up and is in the right place at the right time, and when it matters, and the game is on the line, she puts it in the back of the net."

The shot was the All-Big 12 freshman team honoree's fifth of the match and third on net.

"To finally be on the right side of a one-goal match means that all of our hard work is finally paying off," England said. "There has been a lot of bumps in the road this season, and it hasn't been easy, but if there is a story about this OU Soccer team, it's that we are always going to grind and work through it. This is just a culmination of everything we've worked all year."

The win wraps up the Sooners' 2020-21 campaign, which opened last fall and was extended into the spring due to COVID-19 adjustments. They'll move into the offseason and begin preparations for the 2021 fall season.