Sooner Soccer Hosts BYU in rare Monday Night Match @ John Crain

[OUBeliever56A]

After the big upset win by the Oklahoma Sooner Soccer Team last Thursday over Texas, the Sooners are faced with an equally tough, actually a tougher opponent, in BYU in their Monday night matchup at John Crain Field in a 7 PM first kick. BYU was ranked as the #8 Team in the country when the week began and they defeated OSU 3-0 on Thursday, so their ranking is secure.

I think the BYU match and the Texas match will be very different. The Texas offense was pretty much centered around two players. OU did an excellent job in 'marking' those two players on defense and was able to keep Texas off the scoreboard with a shutout. BYU sends a host of players into the goal area to score. Eight (8) Cougars have at least double-digit scoring points with five (5) players who have scored at least 17 points. Oklahoma has three (3) players with double-digit points and only two (2) players who has scored over 15 points. The Oklahoma defense will be hard pressed to keep BYU out of their goal in this game. BYU has scored 53 goals and and allowed 16. Oklahoma has scored 33 goals and allowed 25.

BYU is also a very mature team as they start 7 seniors, 1 junior and 2 sophomores with a freshman GK the last few matches. OU on the other hand, starts 6 freshmen/sophomores and 5 juniors/seniors. The Sooners bring primarily 4 or 5 players off the bench with 3 being juniors/seniors and 2 being freshman/sophomores. BYU's bench will be comprised of 1 freshman, 3 sophomores, 1 junior and 2 seniors.

I always try to be positive about the prospects of a win for the Sooners in any sport but I think this match is a tough matchup for the Sooner Women. But Oklahoma has played much better at home this season with their 6-1-1 record and probably played their best match of the season on Thursday. But the pressure on the defensive end will probably more than Oklahoma has seen this year except for the Samford match. I have a hope that the Sooner habit of earning a high number of corner kicks can be a positive for the Sooners and that OU can score a goal or two off of set pieces in the match. Maybe that keeps the Sooners in this one and one the Sooners can win a 1-goal difference match.

I wish the very best of luck to the Sooners Women Soccer team tomorrow night.

Boomer Sooner!

[OUBeliever56A]

The Sunday matches in the Big 12 Soccer play are listed below.

Keep in mind that each team has two matches left. They play either Sunday/Monday this 'weekend' and then they all play next Monday. The top 10 teams advance to the Big 12 Tournament. The top 6 teams do not play in the 'play-in round' of the tournament. At this point, I think that 14 points will ensure a Top 10 finish. I think that a 16 points could ensure finishing the Top 6 teams.

- UCF 4-3-1 (13 points) at Cincinnati 2-2-4 (10 points). Cincy in 10th needs a point someway, but UCF may be the better team. UCF is still in the Top 6 picture and mey secure a spot with a win at Cincy.

- Texas 4-3-1 (13 points) at Houston 2-5-1 (7 points). Houston is on its' last legs unless they upset Texas with a win. A Texas win or tie helps them into the Top 6.

- Baylor 3-3-2 (11 points) at Texas Christian 5-1-2 (17 points). TCU needs a tie or a win to remain in the Top 4 seeds. Baylor is likely to make the Top 10 but a points helps their cause. A Baylor win jumbles things a bit for TCU.

- Iowa State 2-6-0 (6 points) at Kansas State 1-6-1 (4 points). K-State is out of the Tourney chase I believe. Even with 2 wins in the remaining matches, they just tie Cincinnati for 10th if Cincy earns no other points. The two teams, Cincy and K-State did not play during the season. Not sure how a tie would be broken. Iowa State can get to 9 points and a possible 12 points with two wins. They have an outside shot at making the Top 10.

- West Virginia 4-3-1 (13 points) at Kansas 0-6-2 (2 points). West Virginia has played well lately and should have no problem with Kansas on the road. West Virginia has a good chance to be in the Top 4 teams in the Big 12. Kansas is just playing out their season at this point.

- Oklahoma State 4-4-0 (12 points) at Texas Tech 6-0-2 (20 points). Texas Tech wants to keep thigs rolling. OSU is remembering when they were 4-0 in the Big 12. a Win puts Tech in the driver's seat to win the Big 12. OSU is probably in the Big 12 tourney but an unexpected point against Tech would make the Cowgirls feel better.

- BYU 5-0-3 (18 points) at Oklahoma 3-3-2 (11 points). BYU can keep pace with Tech and ahead of TCU with a win against OU. Oklahoma needs to fight for every point in the last two games. A tie against BYU would put OU is better shape and a prospect of 15 points for the Big 12 season. But they have to have at least a tie against BYU.

Here are the standings before Sunday's games:

1st - Texas Tech = 6-0-2 - 20 points - Travels to Iowa State next Monday.
2nd - BYU = 5-0-3 - 18 points - Hosts UCF next Monday.
3rd - TCU = 5-1-2 - 17 points - Travels to Texas next Monday.
T4th - Texas = 4-3-1 - 13 points
T-4th - UCF = 4-3-1 - 13 points
T-4th - West Virginia = 4-3-1 - 13 points - Hosts Cincinnati next Monday.
7th - Oklahoma State = 4-4 - 12 points - Hosts Oklahoma next Monday.
T-8th - Baylor = 3-3-2 - 11 points - Travels to Houston next Monday.
T-8th - Oklahoma = 3-3-2 - 11 points
10th - Cincinnati = 2-2-4 - 10 points
= = = =
11th - Houston = 2-5-1 - 7 points
12th - Iowa State = 2-6-0 - 6 points
13th - Kansas State = 1-6-1 - 4 points - Travels to Kansas next Monday.
14th - Kansas = 0-6-2 - 2 points

[OUBeliever56A]

HERE ARE THE RESULTS of the Sunday Matches:

- UCF 4-3-1 (13 points) at Cincinnati 2-2-4 (10 points). Cincy in 10th needs a point someway, but UCF may be the better team. UCF is still in the Top 6 picture and mey secure a spot with a win at Cincy. UCF won 1-0 over Houston. UCF scored 15 minutes into the match and the lone goal stood up.

- Texas 4-3-1 (13 points) at Houston 2-5-1 (7 points). Houston is on its' last legs unless they upset Texas with a win. A Texas win or tie helps them into the Top 6. Texas scored 4 first half goals and won going away 6-1 on the road.

- Baylor 3-3-2 (11 points) at Texas Christian 5-1-2 (17 points). TCU needs a tie or a win to remain in the Top 4 seeds. Baylor is likely to make the Top 10 but a points helps their cause. A Baylor win jumbles things a bit for TCU. Eight minutes into the match, Baylor was called for a penalty in the 18-box. TCU's Hennessey scored the games only goal.

- Iowa State 2-6-0 (6 points) at Kansas State 1-6-1 (4 points). K-State is out of the Tourney chase I believe. Even with 2 wins in the remaining matches, they just tie Cincinnati for 10th if Cincy earns no other points. The two teams, Cincy and K-State did not play during the season. Not sure how a tie would be broken. Iowa State can get to 9 points and a possible 12 points with two wins. They have an outside shot at making the Top 10. Iowa State won 2-1 over K-State. The win keeps I-State alive to make the Big 12 tourney.

- West Virginia 4-3-1 (13 points) at Kansas 0-6-2 (2 points). West Virginia has played well lately and should have no problem with Kansas on the road. West Virginia has a good chance to be in the Top 4 teams in the Big 12. Kansas is just playing out their season at this point. A second half goal by West Virginia was the only goal of the match as WV won 1-0.

- Oklahoma State 4-4-0 (12 points) at Texas Tech 6-0-2 (20 points). Texas Tech wants to keep thigs rolling. OSU is remembering when they were 4-0 in the Big 12. a Win puts Tech in the driver's seat to win the Big 12. OSU is probably in the Big 12 tourney but an unexpected point against Tech would make the Cowgirls feel better. Texas Tech's Williams scored on a two-assist goal in the 32nd minute and that was all Tech needed for the win 1-0 over OSU. It was OSU's fifth straight loss.

Here are the standings AFTER Sunday's games:

1st - Texas Tech = 7-0-2 - 23 points - Travels to Iowa State next Monday.
2nd - TCU = 6-1-2 - 20 points - Travels to Texas next Monday.
xx - 3rd - BYU = 5-0-3 - 18 points - Hosts UCF next Monday.
T4th - Texas = 5-3-1 - 16 points
T-4th - UCF = 5-3-1 - 16 points
T-4th - West Virginia = 5-3-1 - 16 points - Hosts Cincinnati next Monday.

xx - BYU and OU play on Monday in Norman.

The six teams above are guaranteed to be in the top 6 teams. Texas Tech and TCU are guaranteed to be in the Top 4. With two ties or one win in their last two matches, BYU is guarantied a Top 4 finish.
= = = =

7th - Oklahoma State = 4-5 - 12 points - Hosts Oklahoma next Monday.
T-8th - Baylor = 3-4-2 - 11 points - Travels to Houston next Monday.
xx - T-8th - Oklahoma = 3-3-2 - 11 points
10th - Cincinnati = 2-3-4 - 10 points
11th - Iowa State = 3-6-0 - 9 points
12th - Houston = 2-6-1 - 7 points

xx - BYU and OU play on Monday in Norman.

I believe that OSU has a top 10 finish guaranteed as they defeated I-State during the season for a tie-breaker advantage in case of a 2-way tie between them for 10th place.

I believe that 13 points guarantee a Top 10 finish for Baylor (needs a win), Oklahoma (needs a win or 2 ties) or Cincinnati (needs a win.) An I-State loss to Tech guarantees a spot in the Big 12 tourney for OSU, Baylor and Oklahoma. An I-State loss to Tech and a Houston loss to Baylor guarantees Cincinnati a spot in the Big 12 tourney.
= = = =

13th - Kansas State = 1-7-1 - 4 points - Travels to Kansas next Monday.
14th - Kansas = 0-7-2 - 2 points

[OUBeliever56A]

The Sooners lost to a very good BYU team on Monday night at Lhon Crain Field by the score of 2-0 on Senior Night. I was not at the match because I was at the OU Softball Game. I will watch the replay on ESPN+ later today and probably have more comments.

It looks like that the Sooner played the match without Andi Wolfe who was helped off the field on Thursday night in the Texas match. I hope that she can heal up quickly and be able to play next week in Stillwater.

BYU scored goals in the 42nd minute and in the 72nd minute of the match.

In a post-game interview, Coach Mott had this to say about the match. "I'm really proud of the way we played tonight, That's a really, really good BYU team that is absolutely one of the most talented teams in the country. We fought with them the whole time. It was a bummer to give up that goal right before halftime because I thought we deserved something for our play in the first half, too. Then you give up a little mistake and they punished us. But overall, really happy with how we played and fought. We're playing at a high level at the right time."

With the BYU win and OU loss here is the revised standings for Big 12 Soccer and AFTER Monday nights match.

1st - Texas Tech = 7-0-2 - 23 points - Travels to Iowa State next Monday.
2nd - BYU = 6-0-3 - 21 points - Hosts UCF next Monday.
3rd - TCU = 6-1-2 - 20 points - Travels to Texas next Monday.
T4th - Texas = 5-3-1 - 16 points
T-4th - UCF = 5-3-1 - 16 points
T-4th - West Virginia = 5-3-1 - 16 points - Hosts Cincinnati next Monday.

The six teams above are guaranteed to be in the top 6 teams. Texas Tech, BYU and TCU are guaranteed to be in the Top 4.
= = = =

7th - Oklahoma State = 4-5 - 12 points - Hosts Oklahoma next Monday.
T-8th - Baylor = 3-4-2 - 11 points - Travels to Houston next Monday.
T-8th - Oklahoma = 3-4-2 - 11 points
10th - Cincinnati = 2-3-4 - 10 points
11th - Iowa State = 3-6-0 - 9 points
12th - Houston = 2-6-1 - 7 points

I believe that OSU has a top 10 finish guaranteed as they defeated I-State during the season for a tie-breaker advantage in case of a 2-way tie between them for 10th place.

I believe that 13 points guarantee a Top 10 finish. To do that, OSU needs a tie, Baylor needs a win, Oklahoma needs a win and Cincinnati needs a win. An I-State loss to Tech guarantees a spot in the Big 12 tourney for OSU, Baylor and Oklahoma. An I-State loss to Tech and a Houston loss to Baylor guarantees Cincinnati a spot in the Big 12 tourney.
= = = =

13th - Kansas State = 1-7-1 - 4 points - Travels to Kansas next Monday.
14th - Kansas = 0-7-2 - 2 points

[OUBeliever56A]

I was able to watch the replay on ESPN+ yesterday and thought the Sooners played well against BYU. While BYU is very good at possessing the ball, OU held their own in time of possession and had their moments on the attack. The Sooners threatened to score several times following good passes from the midfield area and on a couple of set pieces.

The two goals by the BYU Cougar required some very good play by BYU to produce.

The first goal in the first half was directly off of an offside call against Hawkins with a goal good potential to score. After the restart from the offside call, BYU moved the ball from the ight side of the pitch to the left side of the pitch and advance the ball forward. All of a sudden, Sierra Pennock was carrying the ball toward the left corner of the 18-foot box un-marked by a Sooner defender. Pennock drew a Sooner defender close and made a very nice pass instride to Jamie Shephard who continued carrying the ball toward the Sooner endline. She got a step ahead of her defender and made a beautiful pass into box across the face of the goal. The pass was just high enough to evade a jump by Calley England who tried to get up an head the ball away and the pass was just ahead of another BYU in the middle of the smaller box being marked by Hadley Murrell as it crossed the goal. As Olivia Ramey reacted to the pass and crossed the goal mouth, Rachel McCarthy was a step ahead of a Sooner and one-touched the ball into the goal out of Ramey's reach with one very solid right foot. There was not a foot to spare at several points of the pass by Shephard. I am sure that goal might make the highlights for the BYU season.

The second goal was just after a good shot by Hawkins that was blocked by the BYU GKer. BYU gathered the ball and moved the ball towards the midfield stripe on the right side of the pitch. BYU eventually emerged with the ball from a group of maybe 7 players and crossed the midfield with the ball. On a nifty move a BYU player stepped by a Sooner defender and BYU brought the ball closer to the right corner of the 18-foot box. McCarthy was the BYU that made that first move. At the corner of the box, McCarthy passed the ball to Mozingo who made a nice move by Murrell before passing the ball to a wide open Walbruch in the middle of the box with OU defenders trailing or to the left of her. Walbruch buried the ball past Ramey into the goal on a defensive miscue with no Sooner picking up Walbruch. BYU made at least three good moves on plays by Sooner defenders or on passes to create the wide open goal.

The Sooners need to re-qroup this week after two very good efforts by the Sooners against Texas and BYU last week. It will be interesting to see if Andi Wolfe can recover quickly enough to play against OSU next Monday. Against BYU, Hadley Murrell moved back to the back row from the midfield/forward area to replace A. Wolfe. Andi Wolfe has become a very stabling factor on the back row for the Sooners during the year. It is important to get her back as soon as possible but the Sooners really need her for the Big 12 Tourney.

I think the Sooners have wrapped up a berth in the Big 12 Tourney. Making sure that every is as close to 100% healthy by the time the Big 12 Tourney starts is the important factor. It would require several things to keep the Sooners out of the Big 12 Tourney.

1) Cincinnati would have to upset WV in Morgantown. That would give Cincy 13 points.
2) Iowa State would have upset Texas Tech in Ames to win the their match. That would give I-State 12 points.
3) Baylor would have to have a loss in their match at Houston. That would keep Baylor at 12 points. I actually think Baylor is in the Tourney no matter what happens.
OU would have to lose at OSU to remain at 11 points.
If all of that happens, OU ends up in 11th place with 11 points behind OSU with at least 13 or 15 points, Baylor with at least 12 points, Cincinnati with 13 and Iowa State with 12 points.

That would a big blow to the Sooners. Oklahoma State is on a five-match losing streak. The Cowgirls full-effort-mode against Oklahoma next Monday evening. If OU Softball was not playing against Seminole JUCO on Monday night, I would be in Stillwater for my first road Soccer Match. (Would I actually defer to Sooner Soccer, maybe but probably not.) I will be watching my phone for Soccer updates via Live Stats though and probably hurrying home to see the last part of the 2nd half of the Soccer Game.

OU needs to at least come away with a tie in their match at Stillwater. If they can do that, but there would still be some scoreboard watching until Cincy or I-State does not win.

Good luck to the Sooners!

Boomer Sooner!