Lady Bison soccer win third and fourth consecutive match

By Michael Stewart, Assistant Sports Editor

The Oklahoma Baptist Women’s soccer team moved to a perfect 4-0 start in the Great American Conference after defeating Southern Nazarene University Tuesday, Sept. 25 and East Central University on Thursday, Sept. 27.

The Lady Bison defeated Southern Nazarene University on Tuesday, Sept. 25 and East Central University on Thursday, Sept. 27. The Lady Bison dominated in their first match of the week, defeating the Crimson Storm 5-0 at home.

“We came into the match really focused,” junior Ruth King said. “We expected SNU to be a tough team, but we came ready to play.”

OBU took only 10 minutes to get on the board after King buried a cross from freshman Tori Kitchel.

Not even a minute later, King doubled the Lady Bison lead after beating a defender and blasting a shot into the upper left corner. King would earn a hat trick in the 15th minute of the match, after she tucked in a shot for her third goal.

This gave the Lady Bison a 3-0 advantage at halftime. In the second half, the Lady Bison would pick up right where they left off. In the 47th minute, Kitchel beat a defender and scored in the top left corner, giving OBU a 4-0 lead.

Eventually, King would wrap up the scoring with her fourth goal; this time off across from junior Reagan Mann in the 61st minute.

“It felt really good to help
my team get the win,” King
said. “It was a total team effort.”

OBU put on an offensive clinic, totaling of 46 shots on the night, compared to five shots for SNU.

Redshirt sophomore Emily Griffith and senior Sam Engles each spent a half in goal for the Lady Bison.

Engles had three saves and Griffith had two saves, earning the team a shutout.

“We are really happy with how the team performed,” King said. “When we play together, we are a dangerous team.”

Two days later, the Lady Bison traveled to Ada, Oklahoma and defeated ECU 3-1.

“We expected it to be a very tough game,” junior Madison Hill said. “Every time we played them last season it was a really close game, so we knew it was going to be a battle.”

The Tigers came ready to
play, taking a 1-0 lead all the
way to halftime.

However, the Lady Bison would mount a second-half comeback, starting with a goal off a corner from Mann in the 54th minute.

With the score knotted at 1-1, Kitchel would give the Lady their first lead after scoring in the 67th minute.

Eventually, senior Jennifer Goethe would put the game away in the 73rd minute with her first goal of the season.

“Our team did a good job responding to the adversity,” Hill said. “When we were down, we really relied on each other to get back in the game. It was a big win.”

Offensively, the Lady Bison outshot ECU 21-10 and put nine shots on goal.

King led OBU with five shots and White added another four. Griffith earned the win again in goal for the Lady Bison.

“Our team is constantly growing closer together and getting better,” Hill said. “We have a lot of big games ahead of us, so we have to continue getting stronger as a team.”

So far this season in GAC play, the Lady Bison have dominated opponents, outscoring them 12-3 in all competitions.

OBU returns to action next Thursday as they travel to Alva, Okla. to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State.