The Oklahoma women’s soccer team defeated rival Oklahoma State by a score of 1-0 Friday night, and the Sooners have now won four of the last five match-ups between the two.
The tone of the game was set early with five straight fouls. In the end there was 34 total fouls and two yellow cards. Oklahoma head coach Matt Potter said the physicality was to be expected in Bedlam.
“Any time there’s a rivalry game there’s going to be some physicality to it, but I didn’t think it was overly physical,” Potter said following the game. “We were obviously on the right side of things tonight.”
The Sooners dominated the majority of the game with 17 shots to the Cowgirls 4. Even though the Sooners had plenty of opportunities, they just could not seem to find the back of the net. Potter said it important was for his team to stay patient and not get frustrated.
“At times we weren’t super, super patient in the final third and that’s where we’ve got to grow and develop as a team” Potter said. “We’ve got to show that killer instinct and quality in front of the goal.”
Finally, in the 81st minute, sophomore Kaylee Dao scored on an assist from senior Shiloh Price for the game winner. Dao it was a “relief” to finally score, but it was important to stay focused.
“It was a relief, but we call it a five minute lock-in, where you just focus for the next five minutes and the rest of the game to keep that lead” Dao said regarding the goal she scored. “Playing against OSU is always super competitive. It’s pretty chaotic and everyone brings it. You got to be there and stay mentally tough and just fight it out.”
BOOMER! Kaylee Dao with the header in the 81st minute to put the Sooners up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/YX8abEpsPo
— Sooner Sports TV (@SoonerSportsTV) August 27, 2016
It was the third straight game this season where the Sooners were the only team to score in the second half.
“Today we came out and played well, brought the intensity and the effort, but we say that every game is a championship game. Whether it’s OSU or anyone else, one win it just spurs us on to the next one,” Dao said.
Potter said he was pleased with his team's performance.
“It’s a great indicator if we can build off this type of performance," Potter said. "When we had to show a little bit of grit, we showed it, when we had to show we could play, we played."
The Sooners are now 2-0-1 on the season and will be back in action at John Crain Field Sunday at noon against Utah Valley.
