Soccer Downed By No. 19 UCF In Norman

Sunday, October 1

John Crain Field

1 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

6-6-1, 2-2-1

UCF

8-3-0, 4-1-0

UCF

Oklahoma

October 01, 2023 | Soccer

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By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN – Oklahoma set a program record with 15 corner kicks and outshot No. 19 UCF 20-8, but the Sooners were downed at John Crain Field, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in a Big 12 match.

The loss was Oklahoma's (6-6-1, 2-2-1 Big 12) first at home this season, ending the program's second-longest unbeaten home streak at six.

"Really disappointing result for us," head coach Matt Mott said. "I certainly felt like the team played well enough to get a point. They worked hard and created a ton of chances, but credit to UCF who played really well and defended at a high level. We had 15 corners compared to their one, and they scored on their corner and we didn't score on any of ours – that's kind of the story of the game."

The Sooners took the match's first shots, with Ella Pappas' shot in the sixth minute getting blocked by a UCF (8-3-0, 4-1-0 Big 12) defender. But UCF struck first in the 11th minute when Mia Asenjo took the cross from Dayana Martin and scored on an open net. Down 1-0, Oklahoma pressed its numbers forward and found the equalizer in the 13th minute when Emma Hawkins beat her defender and fired a shot on net that ricocheted past the UCF keeper. The goal was her ninth of the season, moving her into a tie for fifth all-time at Oklahoma in single-season goals. Oklahoma took five corners over the remaining 32 minutes of the half but could not add the go-ahead goal.

The Sooners added three more chances from the corner spot to open the second half, as OU held a 15-1 advantage from the corner on the day. Despite OU's large corner kick lead, UCF made the Sooners pay from the spot. In the 59th minute, UCF's Katie Bradley took the Knights' only corner kick of the afternoon, but her service found Kyleigh Thelen, who beat OU goalkeeper Sierra Giorgio for the game-winning goal. The Sooners had several chances down the stretch to equalize, but UCF goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle was strong for the Knights, corralling six saves in the win.

Hawkins led the effort with eight shots, including two on goal, in the loss. Five other OU players notched two shots, including Leonie Weber, who nearly scored late in the game from a free kick just outside the UCF 18-yard box. When the final whistle blew, OU had seven shots on goal to UCF's four.

The Sooners will look to rebound on the road this week, then they travel to West Virginia for a battle with the Mountaineers on Thursday night, followed by a Sunday afternoon matchup at Cincinnati.

"We've got to get ourselves prepared for a really tough week on the road at West Virginia and Cincinnati," Mott added. "They're two really tough opponents and we'll need to play at a high level."