Offense Propels OU to Win Over UVU

Thursday, September 16

Norman

7 PM

University of Oklahoma

4-4-1, 0-0-0

Utah Valley

5-3-0, 0-0-0

Utah Valley

Oklahoma

September 16, 2021 | Soccer

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NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma soccer team returned to the win column Thursday night with a 4-2 victory over Utah Valley at John Crain Field in Norman.

OU (4-4-1) saw goals from four different Sooners en route to its third home win of the season.

"It was important we got back to our winning ways," said OU head coach Mark Carr. "That's the expectation here. I think it's dangerous when you come off a tough game against a top-3 opponent in the country because you don't know how your team is going to respond.

"Credit to our team, I thought they responded really well in the first half and we thought we should've put the game out of sight early on, but credit also to Utah Valley, they found a way to get back in the game."

"A lot of people played their roles tonight and that's what teamwork is, people stepping on the field and playing their roles." - Mark Carr

Senior Lauren Tovy got the scoring started in the 29th minute when sophomore Cailey England played a through ball that found Tovy in the box who buried it with her right foot past the UVU keeper. It marked Tovy's second career goal and first since the 2018 season.

The Sooners went up a pair in the 32nd minute as freshman Keera Melenhorst found a dashing Jazzy Richards who beat the Wolverine keeper to tally her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

Following a foul in the box, Utah Valley got on the board in the 36th minute converting a penalty kick off the foot of Heather Stainbrook.

After the half, UVU evened things up with a goal outside the 18-yard box from Nicole Ray in the 64th minute.

The Sooners responded with an unassisted goal from senior defender Olivia Odle in the 76th minute. It was Odle's first collegiate goal in 35 career games.

Freshman Ella Pappas put the game out of reach in the 88th minute, scoring her second goal of the season off assists from Cameron Tharp and Bri Amos.

"It was decision time at the half and we had to make a decision as a team on what we wanted and I think you saw a resilient team." continued Carr. "Ultimately, stat-wise, I felt like we were well-deserving of the victory."

The Sooners outshot the Wolverines 24-8 and held a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Twelve Sooners took shots in the contest with eight putting a look on goal. Senior keeper Nikki Panas made two saves in the contest.

Oklahoma returns to the pitch Sunday in Dallas for a 7 p.m. match against No. 24 SMU. The game is available to watch via subscription on ESPN+.

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