Sooners Battle to Draw in Season Opener

Thursday, August 18

Norman

7 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

0-0-1, 0-0-0

Houston

0-0-1, 0-0-0

Houston

Oklahoma

Sooners Battle to Draw in Season Opener

August 18, 2022 | Soccer

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NORMAN — Trailing 1-0 in the 87th minute, Bailey Wesco snuck through the back line to bury the equalizing goal and give Oklahoma a season-opening 1-1 draw vs. Houston on Thursday night in Norman.

The Sooners (0-0-1) outshot the Cougars 15-5 for the night, including a 7-3 advantage on net, but needed late-match heroics from the sophomore Wesco to come away with the point.

"It was a combination of nerves in the first 20 minutes and the system Houston threw at us," said head coach Mark Carr. "I thought the second half the number of counter attacks, we were in control and created a lot of good chances. Morganne (Eikelbarner) and Emma (Hawkins) had some good opportunities.

"It was great to see Bailey (Wesco) score one at the end. I think we just need some more quality. If we can fix that quality on scoring goals I think that tie goes to a win."

Starting four freshmen, Oklahoma dominated possession early, creating three early chances without capitalizing. Leonie Weber took a chance early, just missing off the top of the crossbar. Weber didn't wait long for her second shot of the night, this one forcing a save from Houston keeper Haley Woodward in the seventh minute.

The match's first breakthrough came in the 12th minute when OU freshman Cassie Clifton fouled Maddie Bowers just inside the 18-yard box, awarding the Cougars a penalty that Sam Wiehe netted to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Pressing for an equalizer, the Sooners took nine more shots in the first half before Hawkins opened the second period with a look on goal that was saved and pushed to the post.

After a trio of shots from OU and just two shots from the Cougars into the final 10 minutes, the Sooners found the equalizer off the foot of Wesco.

From near midfield, freshman Hali Hartman played a ball into the box that deflected off a UH defender and into Wesco's possession who buried it into the bottom right corner of the net to bring the match to a draw. It marked Hartman's first career assist and Wesco's second career goal.

Wesco paced the Sooners with five shots on the night, followed by Weber and Hawkins' three looks a piece. In goal, senior transfer Makinzie Short registered a pair of saves, allowing just one goal on the penalty kick.

Due to new NCAA rules, overtime will no longer be played in the regular season.

The Sooners head to Lincoln, Neb., on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match with the Huskers. The game can be seen on Big Ten Plus. OU beat the Huskers a season ago, 1-0, on a golden goal from Ella Pappas in the second overtime.

Oklahoma's next home match is Thursday, Aug. 25 vs. preseason No. 8 Arkansas. Tickets are available via SoonerSports.com.

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