BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - The Oregon Tech women's soccer team (18-2) continued their terrific run of form with a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma University of Science & Arts (16-6) on Thursday evening. With the win, Tech extends their winning streak to a new program-best at 13 straight victories. The victory for the Lady Owls sends them into the opening round championship match where they will face off against top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific).
"I am so proud of how the girls started the game tonight," said head coach
Casey Tate. "The energy was great on the field, and the men were big time in the crowd. We had some good finishes vs a quality team. We need to recover and be ready for a very good Oklahoma Wesleyan team on Saturday."
#2 Oregon Tech 4 #3 Oklahoma University of Science & Arts 1
Heading into Thursday's match, Tech was trying to pick up where they left off last season, looking to advance to their second-straight opening round championship match.
The Lady Owls would waste no time, relishing the opportunity and jumping on the Drovers in the first 20 minutes. Kiah Wetzell scored the breakthrough for Tech as she broke away down the flank and slotted in the shot just past USAO's keeper to give the Lady Owls a 1-0 lead.
Nyah Kendall would waste no time in following up Kendall's act, scoring less than three minutes later to put Tech ahead by two.
After capturing all the momentum, Tech went into the halftime break with a two-goal lead, having out-shot the Drovers 6-1.
In the second half, Kendall picked up where she left off, scoring a goal in the 50th minute to give Tech some insurance and one-step closer to the next round. Deemed the "best player on the pitch" by the announcers, Kendall went on down the flank and blasted her second goal past the Drover keeper.
In the 74th minute, the Drovers would breakthrough and reduce Tech's lead back down to two.
Shalynai Naputi wasted no time in getting the goal back for the Lady Owls. The freshman forward went down the pitch directly off the kickoff and immediately put OIT back up by three with a beautiful shot from range.
Tech would go on to win the match 4-1 and finished in dominant fashion, outshooting the Dovers 11-6 on the evening.
The victory for OIT means they will play the host and No. 1 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan (19-2) on Saturday at 2 pm (Pacific). The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the 38
th annual women's national championships in Orange Beach, Alabama November 30 – December 6. This will be the second year in a row the Lady Owls will play in the opening round championship game; last year they lost to Eastern Oregon on penalty kicks.
FOLLOW OREGON TECH ATHLETICS
Facebook |
Twitter |
Instagram |
YouTube