(August 30, 2023) El Reno, Oklahoma - Coming off a 6-2 road loss at Murray State on Sunday, the ladies of Bucks Soccer looked to get back on the winning side of things against Redlands Community College. The Bucks and Cougars split on the season last year, each winning at their opponent's home field. The ladies are now in the thick of their region schedule with a total of 16 Region II games to be played between August 27th and October 24th.
As the old saying goes, "This was a game of two halves." The first half was an all action affair with a lot of attacks on both goals, whereas as the second half was more of a defensive show of strength as Redlands pushed to make up the deficit, and UARM was trying to hold their 3-1 advantage. The game started off like a fire cracker on independence day. Kiah Bobo (Wagoner, OK) almost got on a through ball but was charged down by the Redlands goalkeeper just as she was about to shoot. The ball fell to both Carla Todd (Lochgilphead, United Kingdom) and Jasmin Nielsen (Aabybro, Denmark), who had shots blocked in quick succession before the ball was finally cleared. A few minutes later Jasmin Nielsen had another opportunity to get a shot at goal but saw the ball just roll past the wrong side of the post. UARM put a lot of pressure on the Redlands goal, and the pressure finally created a goal. In the 7th minute, the ball fell lose in midfield and Carla Todd attempted a lob shot from 35 yards and saw it sail over the goalkeeper's head into the net.
The goal sparked Redlands into life as their attacking unit began to find space to probe for opportunities. It was during a Redlands attack, which got broken up by the UARM back line, which provided UARM with a counter attack situation. Kiah Bobo intercepted a pass, dribbled forward, and played a beautiful through ball which split the Redlands defense to find the on rushing Jasmin Nielsen. Jasmin beat he last defender and her shot found the corner of the net, past a diving goalkeeper in the 24th minute of the game. Two minutes after the goal, UARM scored once more, with a similar goal to the previous, but it was Abbie Sunners (Liverpool, United Kingdom) with the defense splitting pass this time, and the same result as Jasmin Nielsen once again controlled the ball and shot low into the corner of the goal.
If UARM had any thoughts of thinking the game was done and dusted, they were proven wrong very quickly. Redlands became frantic in their search for a goal and eventually got one back 3 minutes later when #2 was allowed to run and shoot from the top of the penalty box under no pressure from the UARM defenders. Redlands smelt blood and began throwing everything forward with numerous shots going close, including one which hit the UARM post. UARM did have opportunities themselves as Carla Todd saw her open shot go over the bar from 12 yards out and Jasmin Nielsen shot just wide of the goal in the last minute of the half. Halftime was a welcome break from the constant non-stop manner of the play, end to end action just like a basketball game.
The second half was much more of a defensive rear guard action from UARM, as they sat in their own half of the field and soaked up the constant Redlands attacks aiming to see the game out and keep the 2 goal lead. The UARM defense stood tall, clearing many crosses, and intercepting numerous through ball passes. MJ Rosas (Surprise, AZ) was a rock in the back line shutting down the dangerous #2, and the UARM team was happy to hear the final whistle after putting up a very strong defensive performance to see the game home.
Coach Sherry was proud of his team after their first region win, "It was a real team performance where everyone put in the hard yards to get the win. Fitness levels were pushed to the extreme but the ladies were mentally strong and kept their focus to the end."
The ladies will now return home on Sunday, September 3rd, for a region match against Eastern Oklahoma State College. The match is scheduled for 1 pm at Aubrey D. Tapley Park.
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