Tulsa Women's Soccer Falls In Conference USA Tournament On Penalty Kicks

Tulsa and Colorado College battled to a 2-2 double-overtime tie in the Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship quarterfinals, but the Tigers advanced to the semifinals in penalty kicks, 4-2, on Wednesday afternoon at Holloway Field in Houston, Texas. TU concluded the season with an 11-6-4 record, while the Tigers moved to 13-4-2 overall.

"I thought we played really well," coach Kyle Cussen said. "We knew we could play this well all year long, but we went through a dry spell without scoring many goals. Since then we rebounded, and after we made the tournament it was like a weight had been lifted off our shoulders. The girls came in confident and that is attributed to our seniors. They've done a great job of leading all year long and I'm really proud of them for stepping up this year and all four years in helping to turn this program around. I'm proud of all the work they've done and they will truly be missed. They are leaving a huge legacy behind and big shoes to fill."

Tori Peters put the Golden Hurricane on the board as she drilled in a corner kick taken by Jordan O'Brien with just 17:35 ticked off the clock, but Jessie Ayers countered quickly for Colorado College as she scored off an assist from Chanisse Hendrix just 78 seconds later.

Claire Nicholson scored on a penalty kick in the 26th minute, but Kaeli Vandersluis knotted up the scored in the 39th minute.

Neither team found the back of the net in the second half or in either overtime period to force the game into penalty kicks. Vandersluis, Sarah Schweiss, Ayers and Rachel Herron all scored for the Tigers, while Alexa Sidorakis and Bradi Hinch were the only two able to convert for the Golden Hurricane. Colorado College advanced to the C-USA Championship semifinals, 4-2, in penalty kicks.

Nicholson, Sidorakis and Peters all took a team-best three shots, while Lindsay Kirch added two attempts. Hayley Harryman logged all 110 minutes between the posts and recorded five saves.

The Tigers had a 19-14 lead in shots, including a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal, while Tulsa had a 6-4 lead in corner kicks.