Sunday College Soccer Roundup

White's goal not enough as ORU men fall at Memphis, 2-1

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Memphis scored two goals in the final four minutes to give the Oral Roberts University men's soccer team its fourth loss of the season, 2-1.

ORU (0-4) returns home from its weekend trip still searching for the first win of the season, while Memphis improved its record to 3-1.

The Golden Eagles sat back on defense much of the contest, finally finding an opportunity to attack in the 68th minute. Juan Diego Padilla was able to find Alex White in the box to break a scoreless tie.

It looked as if the ORU was going to pull out the victory until the 86th minute when Hunter Danna put a ball in the right corner of the net to knot the game at one. Less than two minutes later, Danna booted in a free ball in the box for the game-winner.

Memphis outshot the Golden Eagles in the match, 13-1. Mark Sherrod and Benjamin Ciosanski, who each assisted in the two late goals, led Memphis with three shots.

Playing well but earning the loss for ORU was Ben LaCourse. The junior picked up three saves in the match.

Next up for ORU is the first match in a five match home stand as they face Mid-America Christian on Monday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m.

Abernathy, Keller lead ORU in route of SWOSU, 6-1

TULSA, Okla. – Senior Jennifer Abernathy achieved an eight-year first on Sunday as the Oral Roberts University women's soccer team easily handled Southwestern Oklahoma State, 6-1.

The Golden Eagles rebounded nicely following a loss on Friday to move their record to 3-1, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-1 on the season. It was the largest margin of victory and most goals scored by a Golden Eagle team since beating Fort Wayne 5-0 in 2007.

Abernathy helped account for five of the six ORU goals on Sunday, scoring two and assisting on three. Her seven points were the most in a match since Jessica Kellogg had eight points in a match in 2005.

ORU jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first minute of play as Abernathy put in a free kick from 40 yards out off the right side. She perfectly placed a floater over the leaping SWOSU keeper.

In the 19th minute, Kayla Keller received a well place through-ball from Abernathy in the middle of the box and converted it for a goal. A minute and a half later, Keller and Abernathy connected yet again for Keller's second goal of the match.

With 1:47 off the clock in the second stanza, and the Golden Eagles leading 3-0, Samantha Nunez got the Bulldogs on the board. Jessica Carbonara was credited with the assist.

However, the score didn't stay 3-1 for long as Abernathy struck again just 20 seconds later for her second goal of the match and third of the season. Her third assist of the afternoon came in the 61st minute when she found Lexie Salas at the top of the penalty area to extend the lead to 5-1.

Finally, in the 76th minute, Kayla Nsien added the final ORU goal as she wrangled a loose ball off a pass from Tahlor Lyman for the goal. Jordan Parsons also picked up an assist on the play.

Abernathy finished the match with four shots, three on goal, while Keller and Parsons each had two shots. Carbonara led the Bulldogs with a pair of shots.

Helen Erb (3-1) started the match between the posts for ORU and received the victory with three saves. Maddie Rhodes replaced Erb midway through the second period, playing 30 minutes in net with a save.

ORU will be back at home on Wednesday evening with a match against Rogers State at 7 p.m., before traveling down to Norman, Okla., to face Oklahoma on Friday evening at 7.

Cowgirls Fall To 10th-Ranked Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Oklahoma State suffered its first loss of the season Sunday as 10th-ranked Florida knocked off the Cowgirls, 2-0, at James G. Pressly Stadium.

With the loss, OSU fell to 3-1-2 on the season, while the Gators got a pair of goals from Havana Solaun to improve to 5-1-0.

Florida took an early 1-0 lead, getting a goal in the 11th minute as the Gators connected on a pair of passes before Solaun delivered a shot from 12-yards out past OSU goalie Rosa Medina.

OSU's best scoring chance in the opening half came in the 26th minute. After a cross by Kelsey Bass, Krissi Killion flicked a header ahead. Madison Mercado was there, but UF goalie Taylor Burke charged and made a play on the ball just outside the six-yard box to thwart the opportunity.

Late in the opening half, Mercado recorded the Cowgirls' only official shot in the first 45 minutes, taking a cross from Bass and delivering a shot from 15-yards out that was saved by Burke.

Florida doubled its lead less than seven minutes into the second half. Following a scrum near the top of the 18-yard box, UF's Annie Speese won the ball and sent a pass to Solaun, who blasted a shot into the back of the net from 20-yards out to put the Gators up, 2-0.

OSU had a late opportunity to avoid being shutout for the first time this season, but with just over a minute left, Courtney Dike had an eight-yard shot deflected away by a sliding Florida defender.

Florida finished with 17 shots in the match, while the Cowgirls were officially credited with just three, but OSU owned a 7-3 advantage on corner kicks.

OSU returns to action Friday when the Cowgirls host nationally ranked Penn State. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

Sooners Fall On Road To No. 2 FSU

Tallahassee, Fla. -- The Oklahoma soccer team held the No. 2 Florida State Seminoles to a scoreless match for over 75 minutes of play but saw their upset bid fall short in a 1-0 loss on Sunday afternoon. The Sooners (2-4-0, 0-0-0 Big 12) were outshot by FSU (5-0-1) by a margin of 16-4 but used outstanding defensive play near the goal to keep the game well within reach at the Seminole Soccer Complex.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kassadie Stade had one of her finest performances of the season for the Sooners, notching a career-high seven saves in 90 minutes of play against one of the nation's top teams. All four of OU's shots came from different Sooners, with Caren Nelson, Shiloh Price, Courtney Forte and Devin Barrett getting looks.

FSU outshot the Sooners by a margin of 9-2 in the first half, but the Sooner defense held to keep the score at 0-0 through 45 minutes of play. OU blocked two shots near the 18-minute mark, while Stade made a trio of saves in the goal to keep the Seminoles scoreless. Nelson took OU's first shot of the game with a shot on goal near the five-minute mark. Barrett added a shot that sailed wide of the goal in the 43rd minute.

Oklahoma's defense held tough as the second half got underway, limiting Florida State's opportunities while setting up several chances for the Sooners. Forte took a shot in the 52nd minute that went wide of the goal but would help set up a corner kick. Several minutes later, Price sent a header toward the FSU goal that also sailed wide.

Stade continued to make plays at the goal for the Sooners, but the Seminoles struck in the 75th minute on a 16-yard blast from Dagny Brynjarsdottir to take a 1-0 lead. Oklahoma's play in the goal didn't lapse, with Stade posting two more saves and the OU defense blocking a shot to keep the Sooners in the game. OU brought in three corner kicks in the last 15 minutes of play but was unable to convert the opportunities to a goal, setting the final score at 1-0.

Oklahoma will return to Norman next weekend for a two-match homestand at the OU Soccer Complex. The Sooners will face in-state opponent Oral Roberts on Friday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. CT before welcoming North Texas on Sunday, Sept. 15 at noon CT. Both matches will be broadcast live through Sooner Sports TV powered by FOX.