In their first non-tournament game, the Golden Hurricane women’s soccer team picked up a victory against Central Arkansas. The win was the first of the regular season for the Golden Hurricane, who played two games in the Sooner Classic in Norman last week, resulting in a draw and a loss.
Looking solely at the stats sheet, it would appear Tulsa was in control for the whole game, as they outshot the Sugar Bears 18–8. However, it was the Sugar Bears who took the first lead of the game, getting a goal from Autum Schwartz half an hour into the game. The Golden Hurricane weren’t able to equalize in the first half, and went into the break down 1–0.
Shortly after halftime, though, Tulsa got on the scoreboard. A rebound from Tana Dake’s shot fell nicely to Anna Williams, who scored her first collegiate goal to tie the game. The game remained tied for most of the second half, before McKenzi Adams was able to give the Golden Hurricane the lead. Their defense held up for the remaining ten minutes to secure the 2–1 victory.
The Golden Hurricane are returning as a veteran team this season, with the backline and midfield composed almost entirely of juniors and seniors. While the forwards are younger, Head Coach Kyle Cussen is very pleased with the new players coming in and the depth of the team. This is one of the first times in recent years that they have had two players for every position.
Cussen also talked about the strength of the non-conference schedule and why it will help the team play into the postseason.
“If you look at this schedule it’s put together to make a run in the NCAA tournament. We feel like we have a very, very strong team. A very talented team. So we wanted to get them not just physically prepared, but also mentally prepared, going into conference.”
With the win the Golden Hurricane are now even at 1–1–1 on the season. Their next game is on Sunday evening against Texas A&M, the No. 11 ranked team in the country. Next weekend Missouri State and Houston Baptist come into town for the Tulsa Invitational, playing on Saturday and Sunday night.
