Sooner Magic Keeps Sooners Unbeaten in Big 12

Sunday, September 24

Houston, TX

1 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

6-4-1, 2-0-1

Houston

6-4-1, 0-3-0

Oklahoma

Houston

Sooner Magic Keeps Sooners Unbeaten in Big 12

September 24, 2023 | Soccer

Box Score Game Book

By: OU Athletics Communications

HOUSTON – Oklahoma soccer scored two goals in the final 16 minutes of play to overcome Houston on the road, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon and remain unbeaten in Big 12 Conference play.

A 74th-minute goal from Esalenna Galekhutle and an 82nd-minute connection between sisters Andie and Dani Wolfe powered the Sooners (6-4-1, 2-0-1 Big 12) to their first true road victory in over a year.

"That was a really gutsy, gritty performance from our team," head coach Matt Mott said after the win. "It was so hot out here, and with the obstacles of traveling and playing in a tough environment, I'm just so proud of the way they fought. To come back from down a goal is great, and I thought we played great in the second half which gave us the result we came for."

Oklahoma faced adversity from the jump as temperatures in the Bayou City climbed to nearly 105 degrees on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars (6-4-1, 0-3-0 Big 12) struck first when Kyrsten Kizer found the back of the OU net from 30 yards out with her right foot in the 12th minute. Following the goal, the Sooners began to control possession and took the match's only shots over the next 10 minutes. OU forward Emma Hawkins almost tied the game up in the 29th minute when she beat her mark in the box, but her shot was tipped off the crossbar and out of harm's way. Sooner goalkeeper Sierra Giorgio corralled three saves in the first half to limit the damage as OU trailed 1-0 at the half.

Mott's team came out firing in the second half, registering the half's first five shots without a result. The Sooners notched four corners compared to UH's zero in the first 25 minutes of the second frame. The breakthrough finally came in the 74th minute when Alexis Washington earned a corner kick for the Sooners. Muriel Kroflin delivered the ball into the box; it was punched out by the Houston goalkeeper but landed at the foot of Emm Hawkins, who fed the ball to Galekhutle, who scored with her right foot. The goal was Galekhutle's, who earned her first career start Sunday, second of her Oklahoma career. With momentum behind it, OU pressed for the winner and found it in the 82nd minute. Andie Wolfe dispossessed a Houston attacker and fed a long ball over the top of the Cougar backline that found her sister, Dani, just outside the 18-yard box. Dani Wolfe corralled the pass and fired the shot on net that beat the keeper to give the Sooners the game-winning goal. Giorgio was asked to make one more tough save in the 86th minute, which she did to deliver the Sooners three points.

The win was Oklahoma's first in a true road game since defeating Baylor 2-0 in Waco on Sept. 22, 2022, as the Sooners tallied their first win away from John Crain Field under Mott. The Sooners' seven points on the Big 12 table through three matches is the program's most since it tallied nine in three contests in 2016. Oklahoma is tied for third in the Big 12 after Sunday's win.

The Sooners will look to carry their momentum into next week when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday night for a match at No. 25 Texas Tech before returning home on Sunday for a battle with (RV) UCF at 1 p.m. in Norman.