Soccer battles Tulsa to scoreless tie
TULSA, Okla. – The University of Arkansas soccer team fired a season-high 23 shots Thursday evening but none found the back of the net and the Razorbacks battled Tulsa to a scoreless double-overtime tie. Nine of the Razorbacks’ shots were on goal but all were saved by Golden Hurricane goalkeeper Katie Bykowski. It was Arkansas’ first scoreless tie since the 2006 season.Arkansas (3-0-1) controlled most of the early action against the Golden Hurricane. In the first 25 minutes of play, the Razorbacks totaled four shots-two on goal-and three corner kicks but weren’t able to put the ball into the back of the net. Tulsa (1-1-1) was able to neutralize the Razorback attack as the first half wore on and finished the opening period with three corner kicks of its own.
After a scoreless first half, both teams had chances early in the second stanza to get on the scoreboard. Bykowski made stops on several long shots by the Razorbacks. She finished with six second-half stops.
Arkansas keeper Britni Williams matched her counterpart with a sprawling save on a Danielle Hughes shot at the 54:52 mark. On a free kick into the box following an Arkansas foul, Hughes settled the bouncing ball and fired a shot toward the goal, but Williams dropped to her left to make the stop.
Allie Chandler provided a spark off the bench for the Razorbacks in the first half and started the second period up top. The freshman forward fired shot after shot toward the Tulsa goal and finished the night with a season-high five shots.
Despite dominating the flow of the match, Arkansas found itself in overtime for the first time this season. The Razorbacks totaled 19 shots in regulation, eight of which were on goal but they couldn’t put the ball past Bykowski. Arkansas outshot its opponent, 14-3, in the second half of play.
The pressure continued in the overtime period as Laurel Pastor fired a shot wide of the Tulsa goal just 23 seconds in extra time. The remainder of the 10-minute period was played primarily in Arkansas’ offensive half but as was the case in regulation, the ball stayed out of the back of either net which led to double overtime.
The match almost came to an end in the 102nd minute when Tulsa’s Allie Rapp flicked a ball over a charging Williams but it went just wide and the contest remained scoreless. Jennifer Kacergis tacked on another shot for the Golden Hurricane with a low liner into the hands of Williams.
In a couple of final efforts, Pastor and Kat Moffett fired shots at the Tulsa goal, one of which rang off the crossbar while the other was knocked away by the outstretched hand of Bykowski. Williams finished the night with three saves.The Razorbacks return to Tulsa, Okla., for its next match, a Sept. 6 meeting with Oral Roberts. The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at the ORU Soccer Complex. For live stats and more information about Razorback soccer, log on to ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Download: 09.03 vs Tulsa.pdf
