Following the Oct. 4 tie to Mid-America Christian University (MACU), the #21 ranked USAO women’s soccer team looked to defend at home and come out with another win in conference against the Oklahoma City University (OCU) Stars. The Drovers came on top 2-1 against the Stars for their second conference win and remain undefeated in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
I sat down with head coach, Niall Crick, before the Tuesday night, Oct. 7, games against Oklahoma City University to hear his thoughts on the game. When asked what his team learned from their previous game against MACU, he said starting the game the right way.
“Every single game you play, you’ve got to have the same intensity and the same mindset from the first minute,” said Crick.
This mentality was shown in the game against OCU. The USAO women got on the scoresheet first, as Dagbjort Gudmundsdottir got her fifth goal of the season in the 23rd minute.
Ilse De Jong shot a stunning goal from the corner kick position in the 64th minute, her eighth of the season.
The USAO clean sheet was broken as the Stars got themselves a goal in the 67th minute but were unable to get back on level terms.
A dominant midfield display from the Ilse De Jong and the Drovers, and a last minute save from Ashlyn Lonberg sealed the win 2-1 for USAO.
Coming off their 5-1 loss at MACU, the men played a chippy game against OCU. A total of five yellow cards were handed out this game between the teams. Defender Harry Yorke along with midfielders Thiago Fasano and Archie Floate were amongst the carded.
The game ended in a 0-0 draw, with one shot on goal from the Drovers, and two from the Stars. The highlights of the game came from both sides’ defensive efforts.
USAO defenders Cade Lorenz and Harry Yorke could not be beaten with their strong tackling on the defensive line. Hard effort from our forwards kept the pressure on OCU’s defenders for the entire match.
The Drovers will look to take this positive momentum to their away games at Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU), Friday, Oct. 10. The Women’s game starts at 12:00 pm, followed by the men’s at 2:00 pm.
Zeke is a second-year business administration major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
