TU Women's Soccer Wins Season Opener

Bradi Hinch and Camille Pelley each scored a goal to give Tulsa a 2-1 win over Houston Baptist in the season opener on Friday night at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.

TU moved to 1-0 on the season, while HBU fell to 0-1.

"The first game is always an adventure," coach Kyle Cussen said. "It was a good win for us tonight. We told the team afterwards, ‘soccer doesn't create character, it exposes it'. I thought we showed a lot of character, especially in the first 15 minutes. Houston Baptist was sharper than we were, and you could tell we had first game jitters, but we got through that and started playing better. I was proud of the girls and the character they showed this early in the season."

Hinch put TU on the board at the 29:25 mark as she scored from two yards out off a cross from Jordan O'Brien. The Hurricane took a 1-0 lead into the break, but the Huskies' Rebekah Tovar leveled the score as she drilled in a free kick from 22 yards out in the 59th minute.

Claire Nicholson fed a free kick into the box, Lauren King headed it and Pelley scored into an open net from one yard out at the 82:23 mark for the game-winning goal.

Tulsa had a 12-4 lead in shots, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal, while Houston Baptist took a 3-2 lead in corner kicks.

Lindsay Kirch led TU with three shots, while Nicholson, O'Brien and Alexa Sidorakis each had two attempts. Hayley Harryman logged all 90 minutes in goal and picked up one save.

The Huskies were led by Tovar with two shots. Stephanie Castellon and Shelby Horn split time in goal and both earned three saves.

Tulsa will return to action on Sunday at Missouri State. Game time is set for 5 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.