USAO’s women’s soccer team traveled to Oklahoma City University (OCU) to play in the semifinals to try and advance to the SAC Championship Tuesday, Nov. 7. The Drovers had a tough challenge coming into enemy territory to try and pull off the upset, with the start of the game going into the Star’s possession.
The game had a slow start, as both teams equally controlled the ball and saw limited shots on goal (SOG). With six minutes left in the first half, the Drovers put up two consecutive SOG that did not pass through. At the end of the half, the control of the game seemed to be close, but the Drovers put up three SOG to OCU’s zero.
Starting the second half, USAO had the first possession, but the ball was quickly turned over. The Drovers broke away with 14 minutes left in the second half, but the shot was a few feet wide.
With 14 minutes left the girls broke away for a shot to take the lead where sadly they missed just a couple feet from the goal.
At the end of regulation play, the Drovers had managed to put up another shot on goal but no goal. The score was 0-0 heading into overtime. During the first overtime, the Drovers held possession a majority of the time and put up a few close shots.
Yet, as time expired on the first overtime, fans still saw a scoreless game. At the start of the second overtime, the Stars started with the ball.
With six and a half minutes left, USAO’s Alicia Rey, a senior midfielder, broke through and sent the ball into the back of the net. The Drovers strategized how to keep the ball away from the Stars for the remaining time, which included holding the ball in the corner or intentionally kicking the ball out to run down the clock.
After time expired, USAO won 1-0 and sent themselves into the SAC Championship.
The Drovers will travel to Siloam, Ark. to play 1st seed John Brown University (JBU) Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. This will be USAO’s 9th consecutive appearance in the SAC Championship game. With a win, the Drovers will secure their spot in the NAIA national tournament where they will have a chance to compete at the national level for a national championship.
Holden Pate is a second-year business administration major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
