Photo by Roxie Gonzalez
The Oklahoma Christian University women’s soccer team began conference play on Oct. 6 against the Lady Hilltoppers of St. Edward’s University.
The Lady Eagles were looking to put their non-conference record behind them and begin fresh.
“The team’s approach to the St. Edward’s game is that, today, we basically begin a new season,” sophomore Amanda Cooper said before the game. “This is our conference opener, and the first half of our season is in the past. We are ready to play and to compete against a great team like St. Ed’s and begin to move forward in our season.”
Cooper said the team continues to find positive aspects from each performance.
According to sophomore Courtney Nixon, the women are buying in to the idea of beginning a new season as they approach conference play.
“We as a team made a decision to ‘start over,’ meaning that we have discussed the problems we have been having on and off the field and we are working hard to start fresh and push through for a better season ending,” Nixon said.
The Lady Eagles had not scored against the Hilltoppers in the past three games against them, so, when Estefania Bermudez Delgado put a goal on the board during a penalty kick, there was celebration on the field and in the sidelines.
“Those that watched the game know that our girls have improved a lot,” Women’s Soccer Head Coach Randall Robison said. “The last couple of weeks, they’ve really progressed. I think it’s unfortunate timing that we’re playing three really tough teams… Hopefully we can take the little successes we had on the field today against a team like St. Ed’s and maybe that can carry on till we get a little bit deeper in the season.”
Robison said the second half of Monday’s game might be the best he has seen his girls play all season.
The Hilltoppers jumped to a quick 2-0 lead by the 17th minute after St. Edward’s Gracen Jacks scored both goals, but did not keep this scoring rate up.
Jacks also assisted a goal to Alyssa Conde in the 60th minute. The Hilltoppers extended the lead once more when Lauren Heller took a pass from Megan Andersen to beat goalkeeper Lindsey Williams for the goal, making the score 4-0.
The Lady Eagles had two near misses. In the 70th minute, Madeline Roseke’s free kick from just outside the penalty box required a diving save from St. Edward’s goalkeeper Samatha Dier.
In the scramble for possession following the kick, a St. Edward’s defender pulled down Roseke, resulting in a penalty kick. Bermudez Delgado capitalized on the opportunity, giving Oklahoma Christian its first goal in six games and turning the score to 4-1.
“Those type of things – getting a foul at the top of the box, getting the [penalty kick] – those are things that happen when you’re being proactive in the final third of the field and you’re trying to go at teams and you’re trying to make things happen,” Robison said. “Those are things that we struggled with earlier in the year. It comes back to effort and the girls have the effort now. They have the work ethic.”
The Hilltoppers answered back when Jacks scored again in the 86th minute, coming from an assist from Riana Soobadoo. This put the score at 5-1 in favor of St. Edward’s and would hold true until the final buzzer sounded.
According to Nixon, the team is continuing to practice with intensity to prepare for the next game.
“This past weeks practices have probably been the best out of our whole season,” Nixon said. “We have been competitive with each other and gone in hard for every ball.”
Cooper said practices have been intense, competitive, and extremely helpful for the team.
The Lady Eagles will return to the field on Oct. 13 when they host conference opponent Dallas Baptist at noon.
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