OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City women's soccer team return to Brian Harvey Field on Tuesday where it will host Wayland Baptist at 6:30 PM.

Tuesday, October 8
6:30 PM  – Oklahoma City (6-3-1, 2-0-1 SAC) vs Wayland Baptist (2-7, 1-2 SAC)
Location: Oklahoma City | Brian Harvey Field

STARS OUTLOOK
Oklahoma City enters Tuesday with a 6-3-1 overall record and a 2-0-1 record in conference play. Two of the three Stars losses have come to NCAA Division II teams while the other came against Bellevue where the Bruins netted a goal in the final minute to take down OCU 1-0. The Stars are off to a 2-0-1 start to SAC play after opening with a 3-0 win over Southwestern Christian on Sept. 28. Oklahoma City went on the road following the victory over SCU where the Stars tied with Texas Wesleyan after once again allowing a late goal with under two minutes to go for the Rams to tie things up and finish with a 1-1 draw. Most recently the Stars come off a 2-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday for their third shutout win of the season where Ameila Horsford knocked down both of the Stars goals for her first two goals of the season. Oklahoma City has allowed more than one goal just one time this season which happened in the 3-1 loss to Pitt State back on Sept. 19. The Stars have outscored its opponents 30-9 while averaging three goals per game as eight different Stars have scored this season while all have multiple goals on the year. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Hallie Crom
Ranking third in the conference in goals scored, the Stars scoring leader Hallie Crom has racked up eight goals during the 2024 campaign which includes back-to-back hat tricks against Bethany and Sterling. Crom's last score came in the 3-0 win over Southwestern Christian on Sept. 28 for her eighth total goal this season as the senior had just one a season ago. 

Abby Russell
The top goal scorer off last year's team and first team all-conference member Abby Russell has been very active in junior season by either scoring or assisting in five of the 10 games this season. Russell ties for the third most goals on the team with three as she scored her first goal of the season on Aug. 29 against Our Lady of the Lake in the Stars home-opener as she netted the game-winner in the 82nd minute to lead Oklahoma City to a 2-1 win. Russell has had two games this season two assists in each one while having her best game come against Sterling with two goals and one dime. 

Yami Ponce
After not scoring last year during her freshman season, Ponce broke out in a big way against Sterling by not only scoring the first goal of her career but posting a hat trick in the 11-1 win over the Knights. Ponce became the Stars second-leading scorer behind Crom after knocking down a penalty kick in the ninth minute against Pitt State before having another big game in the Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Southwestern Christian with one goal and one assist.

Saizlee Carlton
Carlton only saw action in three games a season ago, however the Stars junior has made a strong impact in 2024. Carlton has scored or assisted in five of the 10 games this season while she did both against Our Lady of the Lake before notching two assists in the same match against Sterling. Carlton scored her third goal of the season against SCU and comes off the Oklahoma Panhandle State match where she dished out one assist on a goal by Ameila Horsford. 

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Wayland Baptist enters with a 2-7 record while starting 1-2 in conference play. With just one win over its last eight games while being outscored 29-4 during that stretch, Wayland Baptist saw its only win in that span come against Central Christian 2-0 on Oct. 1. WBU started conference play with a 6-0 loss to MACU while on Saturday, the Pioneers suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nelson. Wayland Baptist has two girls with multiple goals with Elaina Barrientes leading the way with three goals. Barrientes netted a pair of goals in the season opener while also dishing out one assist in the 2-1 win over Jarvis Christian. Her last score came on Sept. 19 in the 6-2 loss against Texas Permian Basin as she still is looking for her first goal in conference play. Meagan Picon has given the Pioneers two goals this season with her first coming on Sept. 4 against Southwest N.M. and most recently where she netted one of the two Pioneer goals against Central Christian on Oct. 1. 

SERIES HISTORY 
Oklahoma City has taken the last three matchups between the two schools moving the all-time series record to 20-4 dating back to 2001. Before losing both games in 2021 to the Pioneers, OCU had won 17 of 19 against WBU. The two teams squared off twice last season, first coming on Oct. 21 where Oklahoma City won 2-0 behind goals in the 78th minute by Sydney Hawkins and another in the 80th minute by Abby Russell. They met once against in the Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinal round where OCU shutout the Pioneers 1-0 with the one goal coming from Reese Roberts in the eighth minute of the match. 

FOLLOW THE STARS 
Find all news, scores, highlights and updates on ocusports.com, Twitter (@ocustars), Instagram (@ocustars), Facebook (Oklahoma City University Stars) and Youtube (@ocustars). Catch every OCU home game and select away games on the SAC Sports Network.