Coming off an exhilarating bicycle kick goal in Oklahoma’s upset of North Texas earlier this week, Emma Hawkins knew she needed to carry momentum into Sunday’s game against SMU.
In the 61st minute, the Central Arkansas transfer dribbled the ball down the pitch and scored OU’s first and only goal of the night into the top center of the net to tie the game at 1-1.
“I just wanted to put another one in the net,” Hawkins, a senior, said after the game.
Unable to capitalize beyond the equalizer, the Sooners (1-2-1) tied SMU (3-0-1) following Hawkins’ match-tying goal. Although Oklahoma didn’t come through with a win, perhaps the emergence of Hawkins’ offensive ability can help the program moving forward as it searches for a scoring breakthrough.
𝙂𝙊𝘼𝙇 🗣️@brianna_amos » @emmahawkins_2 💥62' | OU 1, SMU 1 | 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/r1ewJ6kl35
— Oklahoma Soccer (@OU_WSoccer) September 5, 2022
“She’s a goal scorer,” OU coach Mark Carr said of Hawkins. “She’s a handful.”
Hawkins has eleven shots, four points, and leads the Sooners in goals with two this season. Carr was quick to mention, though, that Hawkins wasn’t the only player to perform to his program’s standard, but the rest of the team gave its best as well against the Mustangs.
“I thought we played with real passion, energy, and intensity that you should play with at the University of Oklahoma,” Carr said. “I thought (Hawkins) and (freshman Hali Hartman) were outstanding, but also the energy from our bench, you could probably hear it from the home side. The whole team contributed to the result.”
In the first period, freshman forward Hadley Murrell had a memorable shot in the seventh minute as well as Hawkins’ 12th minute shot, but neither resulted in a point.
The Sooners had five shots, one save, and one corner kick after the first half, and started off period two with a small quarrel between SMU goalie Samantha Estrada and OU redshirt senior Bri Amos.
After two solid consecutive shots by Muriel Kroflin and Hawkins, Sooners goalkeeper Makinzie Short tipped the ball out of the net on a Mustangs rally, saving the Sooners from another SMU point.
.@shortkinzie punches this one out 🧤📺 » ESPN+ | https://t.co/vxyN5wXIgE pic.twitter.com/Wzj2dDiGEg
— Oklahoma Soccer (@OU_WSoccer) September 5, 2022
OU came back with four shots in the second half and Hawkins again led a long run down the pitch but was unable to score a second goal on SMU. Oklahoma ended the night with 10 shots, all of them on goal, and three saves from Short.
The Sooners were aggressive with two separate red cards dealt to Amos and freshman Chelsea Wagner as well as a controversial ending. Hawkins was tackled in the SMU goalie box in the last minute of the game, but there was no call on the play.
“We feel disappointed that there wasn’t a penalty from the ref at the end,” Carr said. “The way I saw it, there was a blatant penalty that the officials missed, so we feel a bit disappointed, a bit sad.”
On another day, the outcome could’ve gone a different way, Carr later added on Twitter. However, the Sooners will look to use their disappointment with the draw in their next match at Tulsa (3-2-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8.
“It is about energy, it is about preparation,” Carr said. “Any time you play a game, it’s about learning and examining what we did well, what we can improve, and being intentional on how we focus on that.”
