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Nearing end of season, Lady Eagles look for win

Photo by: Henoc Kivuye

 

The Oklahoma Christian women’s soccer team fought through a long, hard season, going into the last four games on the schedule with two wins under their belts.

The squad lost to Texas A&M International University and St. Mary’s University this past Saturday and Monday.

“We are not a bad team,” sophomore Samantha Kuneman said. “The team is amazing. We are just so scared of losing that we forget how to win.”

The girls came into this season with high hopes and big dreams, breezing through their pre-season workouts and participating in team bonding events

“We all get along and we are there for each other,” Kuneman said. “I wish the season was going better record-wise, but we haven’t given up the fight.”

In the match against Texas A&M International, the Lady Eagles outshot the Dustdevils by a 20-10 margin. The visiting team’s Jessica Parker pulled a hat trick however, scoring three of the Dustdevils’ four goals in their 4-1 victory over Oklahoma Christian.

Through each game this season, the girls have fought until the final seconds.

“I’m pleased with the attitudes and hard work that my teammates have had,” junior Rachel Bates said. “We’re hoping to get four wins out of these last four games. We all want to end our season with a better record.”

Two days later, the Lady Eagles battled St. Mary’s and freshman Courtney Nixon put in her first career – Oklahoma Christian’s only – goal. Despite the Lady Eagles’ large shooting margin over Texas A&M International, St. Mary’s won their battle over Oklahoma Christian 19-12. Despite the close number of attempts, the Rattlers were able to hold off the Lady Eagles and win 4-1.

The Lady Eagles closed their 2012-2013 season with only two wins. According to Kuneman, her goal was simply to improve overall from last season.

“I just wanted to be better than we were last year,” Kuneman said. “I wanted to be the best that we could be. We’ve already done better than last year in a way that as a team we get along and we don’t fight with each other. There’s no arguing and there’s no pointing fingers. We are a team.”

The next game will be played at home tomorrow against Rogers State University. According to Kuneman, for the remaining games it’s going to take all of the players who have already stood out this season to really shine.

According to junior Rachel Bates, the biggest leader on the field is senior Addie Ryan – the first women’s soccer player from Oklahoma Christian to receive an honor of the week from the Heartland Conference. Ryan earned the conference’s defensive player of the week three weeks ago.

“Addie Ryan has been our strongest player,” Bates said. “She is such a good leader, on and off the field, and she always tries her best.”

Kuneman’s biggest hope for the remainder of the season is for the team to forget what has happened in the previous games, and to get back the determination and the attitude that the team had coming into the season.

“I hope to win and I hope to finish out the season with the attitude that we had back in August,” Kuneman said. “I want to feel like we have accomplished something – especially for the seniors.”

The Lady Eagles are currently 2-9-2, with a 0-3-1 Heartland record this season. Each of the four remaining games are Heartland Conference games.

“Our top players could be anyone, depending on what day it is,” Kuneman said. “It depends on who is being strong and who is being off.”

On Oct. 28, the Lady Eagles play Newman University, who Oklahoma Christian lost to 2-1 in overtime back in September. The Lady Eagles close out their season with games against the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and Lubbock Christian University.

 

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