by The Tulsa women’s soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to 24th-ranked South Carolina on Sunday afternoon in the Sooner Classic at the OU Soccer Complex in Norman, Okla. TU fell to 0-1-1 on the season, while SC moved to 1-0-1 overall.
“It was a tough tournament to start off the season, but we set up the schedule to be tough so that it will help prepare us for conference play and give us a shot at the NCAA Tournament,” Head Coach Kyle Cussen said. “There isn’t a weekend on our schedule that won’t be tough. We played well at times today, and there was even a period that we carried the game and were pressing for a second goal. Playing a tough schedule shows you your strengths and weaknesses right away, but we know where we are as a team and what we need to work on moving forward. I was proud of our resilience in coming back today after playing 110 minutes on Friday, and I was proud of our effort as a team.”
The Gamecocks scored two quick goals, including one each from Bay Daniel and Savannah McCaskill in the 8th and 10th minutes, respectively, and South Carolina held that 2-0 lead into the break.
McCaskill scored her second goal of the contest in the 59th minute, but just over 10 minutes later TU’s Reagan Whitlow (Muscogee Creek Nation) countered as she drilled in a 20-yard score for the Golden Hurricane.
McCaskill tallied her third goal of the contest for a hat trick at the 86:07 mark for the final score.
South Carolina had an 18-8 lead in shots, including an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal, and a 6-1 lead in corner kicks.
Rachel Thun had a team-best three shots, while five others had one attempt. Courtney McKeonlogged all 90 minutes between the posts and picked up seven saves.
Tulsa will return to action on Friday, August 26 at Central Arkansas. Game time is set for 7:00p m in Conway, Ark.
Scoring Summary
Tulsa 0 1 – 1
SC 2 2 – 4
Individual Scoring
Bay Daniel (SC) at 7:27 (Anna Conklin)
Savannah McCaskill (SC) at 9:58 (Bay Daniel)
Savannah McCaskill (SC) at 58:26 (Anna Conklin)
Reagan Whitlow (Tulsa) at 69:25 (unassisted)
Savannah McCaskill (SC) at 86:07 (unassisted)
Goalkeeper Saves
Courtney McKeon (Tulsa) – 7
Hunter Peifer (SC) – 2
