Friday College Soccer Roundup

Sooner Soccer Stuns No. 6 Gators

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma women's soccer team continued its stellar start to the 2014 season by shocking No. 6 Florida, 2-1 in Norman. The victory marks OU's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 3 Oklahoma State on September 7, 2012 by a final tally of 1-0.

Backed by a resolute defensive performance and a sublime early goal from sophomore Rachel Ressler, plus a well-taken second half penalty kick from senior Abby Hodgen, the Sooners managed to pull off one of the biggest wins during Potter's tenure.

“I think you could say it's the biggest win based on Florida being highly ranked,” said Hodgen. “It's a huge win for us, especially following the first weekend when people thought it was just a fluke and we got lucky. I think it shows how much work we have put in.”

OU could not have scripted a better start to the match. Rachel Ressler tucked a beautiful backheel shot into the bottom left corner of the goal in the sixth minute to give the Sooners an early 1-0 lead. The goal was created by a ball crossed in by Caren Nelson, which was touched along by Chelsea Jackson to set up the great finish by Ressler.

After gaining the early advantage, the Sooners dug in and played great defense, keeping the Gators' attack at bay and scoreless for the rest of the opening frame.

Florida came out of the halftime break determined to find the equalizer; the Gators poured numbers forward to try to level the game at one goal apiece.

The Sooners were relentless, soaking up UF's pressure and picking their spots on the counter attack as they aimed to double their lead.

In the 63rd minute, OU did just that and scored what turned out to be the game winner. Oklahoma freshman Lizzy Luallin dribbled down the right side of the attacking third, beating her defender and cutting into the box. After beating the first Gator, a Florida defender helplessly lunged in and took Luallin down, drawing a penalty kick from the referee.

Hodgen walked up to the spot, firing a shot past UF's Taylor Burke and into the left-side netting to give the Sooners' their game winner.

After the second score Florida amped up the attack with even more pressure on the OU backline, firing a number of shots at Oklahoma keeper Kaitlyn Fahrner. Fahrner stood firm with a final margin of four saves on the night.

After many attempts, the Gators managed to pull within one in the 72nd minute as Savannah Jordan fired a shot off the left post from close range that found the back of the net.

Oklahoma was unfazed by the goal and locked the Gators down for the remaining 18 minutes. OU sealed the 2-1 victory to remain unbeaten and improve its record to 2-0-1 on the season overall.

The Sooners conclude the weekend on Sunday, hosting another top-10 squad from the Sunshine State in No. 2 Florida State. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start.

Tulsa's Smith Scores Game Winner for 3-2 Overtime Win Against Missouri State

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Junior-transfer Madison Smith scored the game-winning goal to give Tulsa a 3-2 overtime win over Missouri State on Friday night in the Holiday Inn City Center Tulsa Invitational at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium. TU moved to 3-0 on the season, while MSU fell to 1-2 overall.

Smith scored from 10 yards out with just 38-seconds ticked off the clock in the first overtime period off a combination from Rachel Thun and Alexa Sidorakis.

“We got off to a slow start and didn't expect to go down two goals, but once we did, it gave us a sense of urgency and we started playing better,” coach Kyle Cussen said. “I am very proud of the character of the team that we've shown so far this season. I think it showed a lot of character the way they played, fought back and defended their home field.”

In the first half, TU had a 6-1 lead in shots, but Molly Brewer capitalized on Missouri State's lone attempt. She picked up the ball at the top of the box and drilled it into the lower left corner of the net to put the Bears on the board at the 25:48 mark.

Molly Huber gave the Bears a two-goal cushion in the 49th minute, but Sidorakis got one back for TU in the 56th minute. Sidorakis scored from 15-yards out and Thun and Kajal Parmar each earned an assist.

Thun evened the score at the 65:14 mark when she one-timed the ball over the goalkeeper and into an open net after being fed the ball from Sidorakis.

The Golden Hurricane had a 17-3 lead in shots, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal, and a 5-2 lead in corner kicks.

Thun had a team-leading eight shots, four of which were on goal, one goal and two assists, while Sidorakis finished with two shots, both on goal, one goal and two assists.

Courtney McKeon logged all 90:38 in goal, gave up two goals but earned the win.

Tulsa will host the final day of the Holiday Inn City Center Tulsa Invitational on Sunday, August 31st as Oral Roberts will take on Missouri State beginning at 4:00 pm, and TU hosts UMKC beginning at 7 p.m. at the Hurricane Stadium.

Cowgirls Fall In Double Overtime To Florida State

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State's upset bid against No. 2 Florida State fell short as the Seminoles escaped with a 2-1 win in double overtime Friday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

Rosa Medina recorded a career-high 13 saves, while Miriam Rhinehart notched her first-career goal in the loss as OSU fell to 0-3-0 on the season.

FSU (3-0-0) owned a decided advantage in shots at 38-5, and Emma Koivisto's goal in the 116th minute gave the Seminoles the win.

“We knew coming into the game that for us to have any chance to win, they were going to outshoot us handily like they did last year, they were going to have the majority of the possession — which they did. We talked about Rosa (Medina) having to make five or six big saves — she did. We talked about them having to miss four or five chances — they did,” said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. “All those things fell into place and then we talked about that one goal probably wouldn't be enough against a team that good. We probably had five or six looks, you've got to bury two.

“We can't complain. We're disappointed that we lost, but we're happy that we were able to play them tough because they're clearly one of the best teams in the country.”

OSU would get on the scoreboard first. In the 33rd minute, Courtney Dike and Rhinehart had a two-on-one opportunity against an FSU defender, and Dike delivered a pass that Rhinehart drilled to the far post from eight-yards out to put the Cowgirls up, 1-0.

The Cowgirls took the lead into intermission despite being outshot by an 11-2 margin.

The second half would be more of the same as OSU tried to thwart a relentless attack by the Seminoles, and the Cowgirls were able to do so thanks in large part to Medina, who had nine saves on 21 FSU shots in the second half.

One of those highlight-reel saves came off a 20-yard free kick in the 72nd minute when a leaping Medina snared the shot of Marta Bakowska-Mathews. Just over four minutes later, the Cowgirls' senior keeper made another tremendous save when she redirected an Isabella Schmid shot over the cross bar.

“(Medina) was phenomenal — Florida State must hate her at this point because she did the same last year against them,” Carmichael said. “She did great and when you consider the mistake she made against Oklahoma, it shows the character and the toughness that kid has to come back and have a performance like that; it was quite impressive.”

The Noles would finally manage the equalizer in the 81st minute when after Kristin Grubka's shot was blocked, Dagny Brynjarsdottir was there for the rebound and putback to make it 1-1.

OSU managed just three shots after intermission, and the best of those came in the first overtime when Dike had a shot blocked by a Florida State defender in the 98th minute.

“We need to work on our finishing, but we're getting chances,” Rhinehart said. “We need to find the back of the net more often. Rosa (Medina) made tons of really good saves… it's heartbreaking when she did all that work and we can't finish off the game for her.”

FSU notched the game-winner with 4:36 remaining in the second overtime when Megan Campbell launched a long throw in from the near sideline that found Koivisto, who delivered a goal from six-yards out.

The Cowgirls return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. when they host No. 5 Florida.

Tulsa Men's Soccer Team Drops 1-0 Decision to Saint Louis in Season Opener

St. Louis, Mo. – The Tulsa men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Saint Louis in the season opener on Friday night at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Mo.

“I thought our approach to the game and concentration tonight was good,” coach Tom McIntosh said. “The passing was good for the most part, but they did a good job of stopping us in the final third. Jake was good in goal. He progressed as a goalkeeper and I am pleased to see him grow tonight. That is what it is about for all of the guys, to keep improving. Saint Louis is a good team. They are well organized and they have some key guys that have a lot of experience.”

Filip Pavisic gave the Billikens the game-winner at the 85:21 mark off a combination from Anthony Manning and David Graydon.

SLU had a 14-9 lead in shots, including an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal, and a 7-3 lead in corner kicks.

Aymar Sigue had a team-best five shots, while four other players had one attempt. Jake McGuire logged all 90 minutes between the posts and had seven saves.

Tulsa will return to action on Sunday against SIU-Edwardsville. Game time is set for 1 p.m. Central in Edwardsville, Ill.