TU Women's Soccer Tops UTSA In Regular-Season Finale

The Tulsa women's soccer team posted a 1-0 win over UTSA and earned a bid to the Conference USA tournament on Thursday night at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium. TU moved to 10-6-3 on the season and 4-3-3 in C-USA, while the Roadrunners fell to 5-12-2 overall and 4-4-2 in the league.

"We're very excited about the win and getting to the conference tournament," Head Coach Kyle Cussen said. "That was goal No. 1 for the season and to see that become a reality is very exciting. In the first half I thought we played a little timid, but part of that was just being amped up for this game and everything that surrounded it. Not only do you have senior night, the last home game for these seniors that have done an amazing job for this program, but then you add on to it that if we win we get into the conference tournament. We talked to the girls at halftime about throwing caution to the wind and get numbers in the box, and the girls responded really well. They played with a lot of intensity and with a lot of heart."

Claire Nicholson scored the game-winning goal at the 55:09 mark as she punched in a ball played into the box by Jordan O'Brien on a corner kick. It was Nicholson's fourth goal on the season.

Nicholson led the TU attack with five shots, while O'Brien had four attempts, and Darienne Chapman, Camille Pelley and Bradi Hinch all recorded two shots. Hayley Harryman logged all 90 minutes in goal, picked up three saves and captured her 10th shutout on the year.

The Golden Hurricane had a 19-6 lead in shots, including a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal, and took a 6-3 lead in corner kicks.

After the game, TU honored seniors Hayley Harryman, Bradi Hinch, Brooke Hinch, Lindsay Kirch, Claire Nicholson, Jordan O'Brien, Camille Pelley, Tori Peters and Miranda Zoller. This group of seniors has recorded 40 wins and posted three-straight winning records and three-straight double-digit win seasons.

"I can't say enough about our senior class. This is the group that came in and has really changed the dynamic of our program. I am just glad to see that they will be playing next week in the Conference USA tournament and hope to get back to the title game."

Tulsa will learn its opponent in the Conference USA tournament when the league announces the bracket tomorrow.