Red River Shutout: Sooners Blank Longhorns in Norman

Thursday, October 12

John Crain Field

7 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

7-7-2, 3-3-2

Texas

10-4-2, 4-3-1

Texas

Oklahoma

Red River Shutout: Sooners Blank Longhorns in Norman

October 12, 2023 | Soccer

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By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN – Goals from Dani Wolfe and Ella Pappas helped Oklahoma shock Texas at John Crain Field on Thursday night as the Sooners upset the Longhorns 2-0 in front of the third-largest crowd in program history.

The win was the first for Oklahoma (7-7-2, 3-3-2) against its rival in Norman since 2016 and snapped a six-game skid overall vs. the Longhorns. With the victory and only two games remaining in the regular season, Oklahoma now has 11 points on the table, four clear of the Big 12 Championship cut as only 10 of the league's 14 teams make the conference's postseason tournament.

"What a performance from our team," first-year head coach Matt Mott said. "I couldn't be more proud of how our team fought, fought and fought for 90 minutes. We executed the game plan perfectly and had two big goals for us to get us a win. There were so many variables tonight with the wind and so for our team to figure it out when they needed to most was really special."

The Sooners were the night's better team from the jump against Texas (10-4-2, 4-3-1), who was receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. Emma Hawkins had two chances in the first 11 minutes, nearly putting the Sooners up a goal. Olivia Ramey was strong in net, as the sophomore goalkeeper corralled five saves in her second straight clean sheet. Three of Ramey's saves came in the first 15 minutes of the contest as the Longhorns countered the early OU attack.

At halftime, the teams were level, with Texas holding a slight 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Oklahoma maintained the upper hand in possession, winning 53% of it in the first half. Entering the contest, Texas led the nation in points per game, assists per game and goal differential, ranking second in total goals scored.

The second half saw the Sooners, powered by an enthusiastic crowd of 2,082 fans (third-largest in OU history), launch an even more aggressive attack. Hawkins forced UT keeper Mia Justus to make a diving save in the 51st minute, and Hadley Murrell almost opened her account in the 52nd. The breakthrough arrived in the 55th minute when a well-executed corner kick from Muriel Kroflin found its way to Leo Weber and eventually Dani Wolfe, who calmly slotted her shot past Texas' goalkeeper Mia Justus, giving Oklahoma a 1-0 lead.The goal was Wolfe's, a redshirt senior transfer from Michigan who will play her final home game on Monday night vs. BYU, fifth of the season and 19th of her career.

Texas managed five shots over the next 15 minutes and had a goal disallowed in the 70th minute due to offside. With the Horns pressing, the Sooners found their second goal of the night when Alexis Washington played a ball into the box that deflected off Justus and a pair of Texas defenders and into the air. Ella Pappas took one touch of the ball to lift it into the air, where she then booted it with her left foot and into the upper right corner to make it 2-0 Sooners in the 72nd minute.

Texas managed just two more shots for the remainder of the match, with only one forcing a save from Ramey, ultimately securing the decisive 2-0 shutout victory for the Sooners.

Thursday marked the first time this season that Texas had been shutout in a loss and was the first time since No. 2 Duke did it last year in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The win improved Oklahoma to 6-1-1 at John Crain Field, the team's best home record since it went 8-0-0 in 2005. The Sooners handed Texas their first road loss since Aug. 19, 2021, a streak of 14 matches.

Looking ahead, the Sooners will aim to add three more points to their tally when they face No. 8 BYU on Monday night at John Crain Field, with the match broadcast on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for Senior Night festivities, where OU will celebrate the contributions of Emma Hawkins, Cailey England, Esalenna Galekhutle and Dani Wolfe, with England being the sole member eligible to return next season.

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