Box Score
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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team defeated Ouachita Baptist 2-1 Thursday evening at DeLoache Field.

The RiverHawks improved to 1-1 on the young season, while the Tigers fell to 0-3. The victory for the home side was the fifth in a row over OBU.

NSU took the lead in the 15th minute when freshman forward Melissa Giles collected a pass from sophomore forward Anastasia Robinson, took a touch to the right and scored her first career goal.

Giles found the back of the net again in the 28th minute, this time assisted by a cross from junior midfielder McKenzie Musella.

The Tigers got one back in the 88th minute when Haley Hatcher scored for Ouachita Baptist to make the score 2-1.
NSU controlled most of the game, outshooting OBU 31-11 and holding a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (1-1) earned the win playing all 90 minutes while making four saves and allowing one goal. Emily Keith (0-3) finished with seven saves in a losing effort for the visitors.

The RiverHawks will next play host to East Central Sept. 19. The match will be 7 p.m. at DeLoache Field.

Scoring Summary
OBU       0      1      -      1
NSU       2      0      -      2
 
Individual Scoring
Melissa Giles (NSU) at 14:38 (Anastasia Robinson)
Melissa Giles (NSU) at 27:03 (McKenzie Musella)
Haley Hatcher (OBU) at 87:22 (unassisted)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Emily Keith (OBU) – 7
Jordan Woodruff (NSU) – 4
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH CHASE WOOTEN
Opening Statement...
"On Tuesday, I didn't feel like we played well enough to win. I thought Northwestern (Oklahoma State) was much improved. We stubbed our own toe in that game. I thought our speed of play was much better tonight. We found people a little bit better, but we still have a long way to go. Ouachita Baptist has a good team. In the big picture of it all, we have to be at a point where we can find each other's feet. We want to find space and catch teams in transition. We gave up a goal late, which was a little frustrating. I think we're better than that defensively. We need to stay a little bit more focused. Overall, though, a lot of young kids stepped up and did a good job. Hopefully that's how the season will go as they get more comfortable playing together."
On beating a team picked to finish higher in the GAC than Northwestern Oklahoma State...
"The preseason polls are always a bit premature. I think the results will tell us more over time. Both teams are extremely competitive. Across the region, you're seeing more parody. If you follow the results from this first week, you'll see that good teams aren't just running away from everybody else. We're not terribly wrapped up in the polls. We knew Northwestern was going to be better than they were in the past. We also thought Ouachita, even though they're young, would be a handful. We're not too hyped up over the standings. At some point, you're going to have to earn your playoff spot. That process started this week. Hopefully we can continue to get better as a group."

On Melissa Giles...
"She did a nice job tonight. She got better as the game went on, even though she didn't score in the second half. The stats are going to show that she scored twice in the first half, but she played much more composed inside the system that we have for her during the second half. She's a good player, and if you let her shoot it's going to be trouble."
 
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