OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Oct. 20) – The TWU soccer team exploded for four goals in the second half to take a 4-1 victory at Oklahoma Christian Tuesday night. Four different players scored for the Pioneers as they improved to 7-5-2 on the season.
Both teams struggled to find the net through the first 44 minutes before OCU scored just before the halftime. The Eagles found the net with five seconds left in the first half to take a 1-0 lead at the break. OCU's Chelsea Key scored on a chip shot from 25 yards out.
The Pioneers regrouped at the break and tied the game three minutes into the second half. TWU junior
Rachel Peters scored her second goal of the season in the 49th minute to make it 1-1. She took a cross in front of the net from freshman
Ashley Bishop and found the back of the net from 10 yards out.
The Pioneers continued to put pressure on OCU as they got of 12 shots in the next 20 minutes. Senior
Natalia Diaz put TWU on top with her fifth goal of the season in the 70th minute. She scored an unassisted goal on a free kick from 20 yards out.
The Pioneers added a pair of insurance goals in a span of two minutes to put the game away. Junior
Gaby Larson made it 3-1 in the 85th minute while junior
Nancy Chavez found the net in the 87th minute to make it 4-1. Diaz picked up the assist on Larson's goal.
"We had a slow start but responded well in the second half," said TWU head coach
Babak Abouzar. "It was a great second half and it was fun to watch. We had some players step up and played a great game.
Emily Russell did a good job on defense and
Ashley Bishop did very well in the midfield. We have couple of key games coming up this weekend and we need to carry this momentum into those games."
TWU outshot the Eagles 31-8 in the game including 11-4 in shots on goal. The Pioneers also had a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Diaz and sophomore
Rachel Rupp had seven shots each while Chavez got off four. Senior
Ariana Morrison played all 90 minutes in the net and made three saves.
The Pioneers will return to action when they host Eastern New Mexico on Friday, Oct. 23. The game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at TWU Soccer Field.
