Tulsa wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard against Missouri State. Three minutes into the game, Rachel Thun fed the ball into the box, and Christina Holmes beat the Bears goalkeeper to the ball to open the scoring. For the remainder of the first half, neither team could capitalize on any chances, and halftime came with the score still 1–0.
In the second half, the Golden Hurricane pushed farther ahead with a goal in the 62nd minute. Tulsa earned a corner, and Darienne Chapman headed in the cross from Lana Bermel to give Tulsa a 2–0 advantage.
As the game was nearing it’s end, Tulsa netted a final goal to secure the win. With five minutes remaining, Elisa Impagliazzo set up Thun for the third goal of the game. The game ended with the score 3–0 in favor of Tulsa.
On Sunday, Tulsa played Central Arkansas at home. In the early-going, the game went back and forth between both sides of the field. Tulsa mustered a few shots, but the Central Arkansas goalkeeper was able to make straightforward saves.
The Golden Hurricane were able to get on the scoreboard a short while later, though. Tana Dake received a pass from Alexa Sidorakis in the middle of the box, and had the space to get a shot off around the goalkeeper to give Tulsa the 1–0 lead.
As the half started to come to a close, the teams started to slow, as a result of the afternoon heat. The score going into halftime remained 1–0.
When the second half started, the teams came out with renewed energy. Tulsa pushed forward to try and solidify their lead, and it almost led to a goal conceded on a Central Arkansas’ counter-attack a few minutes into the half.
After that counter-attack, however, the Golden Hurricane took control of the majority of the remainder of the game. A few Tulsa shots just missed the target, sailing slightly over the crossbar.
Halfway through the second half, Tulsa pushed their lead out to 2–0. Central Arkansas’s goalkeeper was able to make a save on a long shot, but the ball fell right in front of the goal, which led to an easy tap-in goal for Impagliazzo. The rest of the game proceeded without much incident, and Tulsa recorded the 2–0 win.
Talking about the team’s great start, head coach Kyle Cussen said, “Setting the school record is definitely special, but it is a long season and you don’t make a run at the conference tournament or the NCAA Tournament in the first six games.”
The Golden Hurricane will look to continue their strong play in their next game on Friday night against Indiana State at Hurricane Stadium.
