Oklahoma Drops First Bedlam Battle of the Season
NORMAN — The first Bedlam matchup of the 2021-22 school year is in the books, but it didn’t go Oklahoma’s way.
The soccer programs hit the pitch at John Crain Field in Norman for a Thursday night matchup which saw the Oklahoma State Cowgirls (2-1-0) prevail over OU (1-2-0) 2-0.
After a promising start to the contest, the Cowgirls struck first against the run of play.
In the 18th minute, Cowgirl midfielder Grace Yochum fired a shot in that deflected off of sliding teammate Gabriella Coleman and into the back of the net.
But Mark Carr’s new-look Sooner squad responded and worked their way back into the game in the face of conceding an unfortunate goal. The second year head coach said he was really pleased with how his team responded in the face of early adversity.
“Brilliant. I said that to them in the huddle, you can’t control that (kind of goal) and sometimes with teams that can bury you,” Carr said after the game. “But we came back at it. We were in their half, we were knocking on the door. We didn’t create what we’re capable of creating, but you saw a performance of kids that just didn’t give up.
“Obviously disappointed with the result. I think for us tonight, like we’re a year on and I think we’re much improved.”
Featuring 16 newcomers from last year’s roster, including 13 freshman, the young Sooners almost found an equalizer in the 55th minute.
Florida State transfer forward Makayla Thomas, unmarked with the ball bouncing around in the box, settled the ball and fired a shot which beat the Oklahoma State keeper, but was denied by the post.
Narrowly escaping at one end, the Cowgirls doubled their lead just three minutes later at the other end of the field.
Receiving the ball to her feet about 20 yards away from goal, Oklahoma State defender Summer Chaffin turned inside on her right foot and rifled the ball inside the far post.
The two-goal deficit proved insurmountable for the young Sooners.
OU’s best chance to peg a goal back came in the 74th minute with Megan Reilly standing over a free kick 20 yards from goal, but her attempt on goal was collected comfortably by OSU goal keeper Evie Vitali.
Yet in the face of defeat, there was still plenty of optimism for how the young OU soccer team handled the moment, playing in front of 1,045 fans at John Crain Field.
“I thought in the first half we really controlled the game,” Carr said. “I feel if you look at possession and just having the ball I thought we did really well.”
The main difference between the two sides, Carr said, was the product in the final third of the field where the Cowgirls converted for a pair of goals and the Sooners were shut out.
“I thought that was the difference tonight,” Carr said. “When I look back on the game, we’ve done a lot of really good things kind of in the first two thirds of the field. And when we got to the final third, we lacked that quality.”
In the end, the Cowgirls and Sooners finished an even 10-10 on shots, but OSU was able to place one more attempt on goal (3-2).
As the Sooners will hang around in Norman for a few games, Carr said he hopes the program can continue to build a strong home field advantage and inspire fans with their play.
“The atmosphere was great,” he said. “I think moving forward we need people in the stands moving forward… I want us to inspire the fans to get on their feet and make some noise and really be the 12th man for us.
“This is a young team, this is a talented team, it’s a hungry team. It’s a relentless team and I think you’ve seen the difference.”
The Sooners continue their early-season home stand on Sunday when they host the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Kick off from John Crain Field between the old Big Eight foes is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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