OKLAHOMA CITY - The OCU Women's Soccer team returns almost all of last year's roster as the Stars get set for a big 2024 season up-ahead. 

Key Returners

JR - Abby Russell
SO - Reese Roberts
JR - Piper Nichols
SO - Amelia Horsford

Key Newcomers

FR - Chloi Thurman
FR - Kyrie Soto
FR - Ryann Brooks

Key Losses

Cara Compton
McLain Moss
Sydney Hawkins
Ashton Seratte

2023 Season Review

Oklahoma City put together its second straight 11-win season and earned the two-seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. The Stars went 3-3-1 in the non-conference slate before heating up in SAC play by jumping out to four straight victories and finishing 7-2 in conference play. 

Owning the two-seed, OCU opened up with Wayland Baptist in the quarterfinal round where Reese Roberts delivered an early goal in the eighth minute to help send the Stars on to a 1-0 win. 

For the third year in a row OCU saw its season come to a close at the hands of Science & Arts in double-overtime where the first and only goal was scored in the 103rd minute of action. 

2024 Roster Outlook

Oklahoma City brings back a ton of experience with the majority of its starters from last season back on the squad in 2024. OCU returns two of its three all-conference selections in junior Abby Russell (First-Team) and sophomore Reese Roberts (Second-Team).

The Stars will have just two seniors on its roster in Hallie Crom and Jimena Martinez along with seven juniors and seven sophomores. Outside of Nichols, Russell and Roberts, Oklahoma City brings back three impactful sophomores such as Ameila Horsford, Yami Ponce and Gemma Harvey who started in 16 games as the teams goalkeeper in her rookie season. 

Oklahoma City will suffer the loss of the Cara Compton who graduated off last year's team as a second-team all-conference player. The defender helped lead one of the best defenses in the conference by pitching eight shutouts and never allowed more than three goals in a game. Compton also delivered the game-winning goal against Central Christian on Oct. 7 to help the Stars win their fourth consecutive contest. 

Giselle Estrada who scored the team's third most goals with four despite starting in only one game departs from the team as does McLain Moss and Sydney Hawkins who scored three goals each and combined for five assists. 

Who to Watch

Abby Russell

The top goal scorer off last year's team returns after a big sophomore season after hauling in first-team all-conference honors by scoring team-high nine goals while also leading the squad with seven assists.

Throughout the season, Russell has went on a four-game scoring streak from Aug. 30 - Sept. 16 and then put together another streak of scoring in three straight games from Oct. 17-24. Russell saw her top two games of 2023 come on Sept. 2 in a 3-0 win over Our Lady of the Lake as Russell claimed one goal with two assists. Russell matched her performance against the Saints with by putting up the same stat line against Texas Wesleyan on Sept. 26 in the 6-2 win over the Rams. 

Reese Roberts

The number-two goal scorer off last year's team Reese Roberts comes back after a stellar rookie campaign receiving second-team all-conference accolades. 

Roberts went on a streak from Sept. 26 - Oct.3 scoring in three straight games while delivering a game-winning goal from 40 yards out to take down USAO for the first time since 2018 in a regular season match up on Oct. 3. 

Piper Nichols

In her two season's a OCU, Nichols has been a player to rarely come off the field for the Stars. Nichols has played in 37 games over her two season's at Oklahoma City and has started in every one of them. 

Despite being one of the top defenders in the conference, Nichols found the back of the net one time last season coming on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 win over SAGU. 

Meet the Coach

Billy Martin enter's year five at the helm for Oklahoma City coming off a 2023 season where he lead the Stars to its highest win total in conference play since taking over for Brian Harvey back in 2020-21. 

Since returning to OCU, Martin has guided the Stars to three semifinal appearances in four year's and has won nine of more games in every season. 

Martin returned to OCU after spending six season's at Rose State College leading the Raiders to a 74-35-2 mark with four National Junior College Athletic Association Region II regular-season championships and two regional tournament titles.

Prior to Rose State, Martin had been an assistant for 19 years for Brian Harvey after a successful playing career at OCU.

During Martin's tenure with Oklahoma City as an assistant, OCU produced 38 all-Americans, 56 NAIA scholar-athlete award winners and nine CoSIDA academic all-Americans on the women's side, and 24 all-Americans, 32 NAIA scholar-athlete award winners and four academic all-Americans among the men. Two Stars turned professional.

Martin contributed to OCU's women capturing 13 Sooner Athletic Conference championships with seven NAIA Championships appearances, double-digit win totals each year, two NAIA Championships semifinals appearances and an NAIA runner-up finish in 2001. During that span, OCU's men added seven conference championships and a trip to the NAIA Championships semifinals in 2008.

Martin plays an active role in developing youth talent on the club soccer level. Martin was named 2009 Oklahoma Soccer Association state boys competitive youth coach of the year. Martin led the OFC '92 to the Oklahoma Premier League championship in 2008. That team also won the state championship, finished runner-up in the Southwest Premier League and reached the quarterfinals of the regional tournament. Martin has been coaching Oklahoma Football Club and the Edmond Soccer Club since 2006.

He has been Oklahoma Olympic development program head coach since 2000 and assistant camp director for Brian Harvey's American Youth Soccer Camps since 1995. On the prep level, Martin has directed the Bishop McGuinness boys soccer program since 2012.

Martin played for Harvey's Oklahoma Heat teams in the U.S. Interregional Soccer League from 1993-96. A native of Grapevine, Texas, Martin provided OCU with six goals, five assists and 17 points from 1989-91. Martin aided OCU to two conference and District Nine championships. Martin played on OCU's first national-tournament squad in 1991.

Coming Up

Oklahoma City opens its 2024 slate on its home pitch against Bethany on Aug. 20 at 5:00 p.m. and will play five of its first seven games at Brian Harvey field through the month of September,

The Stars will break into conference play on Sept. 28 against Southwestern Christian before going on the road against Texas Wesleyan and Oklahoma Panhandle State for its next two. 

The only two teams whom they lost to last year will be contests on the road on Oct. 15 at MACU and will round out the season with John Brown on Oct. 29.

Oklahoma City will wap up its home schedule on Oct. 26 in a big rivalry game against Science & Arts who they defeated a season ago for the first time since 2018 .

Follow the Stars

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