OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City prevailed over Bellevue (Neb.) in a defensive battle that extended to penalty kicks on Saturday at Stars Field.
The Stars (19-2-1) won the shootout 4-3 in the 2010 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Opening Round. OCU, ranked 12th in the NAIA, advances to the round of 16 who will have the opportunity to play for the right to be crowned national champion.
“We dominated possession, we dominated most of the passing but unfortunately we just couldn't find the net,” OCU coach Brian Harvey said. “We hit the post twice, they cleared off the line and their goalkeeper played exceptionally well.”
OCU and Bellevue played to a 0-0 tie after 110 minutes of game action with the Stars outshooting the Bruins 16-4 in regulation. The Stars continued their offensive attack in the overtime periods with OCU getting off nine shots to Bellevue's none, but the Stars were unsuccessful in obtaining the golden goal victory.
“I said to the girls after we won the penalty kicks that the best team won,” Harvey said. “We took the game to Bellevue. They came to defend and deny us which they did a very good job of. They defended very well but they never really threatened offensively.”
In the penalty kick phase of the match, OCU made the decision to switch goalkeepers from Brittany Tibbs, who had played the entirety of the match to the fresh legs and hands of Alissa Reed, a freshman from Fort Worth, Texas.
“All week we've been looking at our keepers and Alissa's been doing very well,” Harvey said. “Assistant coach Billy Martin suggested it to me and we went with it.”
The Stars kicked first and relied on the leg of Malin Andersson, a senior from Huskvarna, Sweden, to get OCU off to a good start. OCU and Bellevue both missed their third-round kicks, but each found their mark in the successive round to knot the score at 3-3.
The fifth and final kicker for the Stars was Alex Miley, the senior team captain from Edmond, Okla. Miley booted a left-footed shot past the keeper to give OCU the 4-3 advantage. Paige Wischmann came up short for the Bruins after a save from Reed sealed the OCU victory.
“I couldn't think about it too much or else I would have been off my game or something would have happened, but this is the best way to go out,” Miley said of her game-winning goal. “I'm just insanely happy. It's everything you want for your senior year.”
“We've been practicing penalty kicks all week in the order we took them today,” Harvey said. “We always feel that we need a good finisher and a good opener so we don't get behind. The last kicker was Miley and this year she was a team captain. She took that responsibility and did very well.”
OCU will face third-ranked Azusa Pacific (Calif.) in the second round at Jack Allen Complex in Decatur, Ala., on Monday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.
“Last time we played Azusa Pacific was in 2001 in the semifinal of the National Tournament and beat them in – guess what – penalty kicks,” Harvey recalled. “We'll be looking to go to Alabama and play our best soccer and represent the university in the best possible way we can.”
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