TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team lost 3-1 to Central Oklahoma Thursday night at DeLoache Field. The contest was Senior Night for the RiverHawks, who honored their four seniors at halftime of the contest.
 
NSU (13-4, 7-3 MIAA) still has 21 points in the league table and remained tied for first in the MIAA standings with Central Missouri. UCM has two matches remaining in the regular season, while Northeastern State only has one.
 
Despite the loss, the RiverHawks have still clinched a top four spot in the MIAA Championship and will host an opening-round match Nov. 4. The Bronchos (10-5-2, 6-2-2 MIAA) have now won three in a row remained in third place in the conference with 20 points.
 
Thursday's match got off to a fairly even start, as both teams were moving the ball and getting into the opponent's half. UCO led the shot count 8-6 in the first half and also scored in the 39th minute. This marked just the third time NSU has trailed at halftime this season.
 
UCO came out the aggressor in the second half and had multiple dangerous opportunities. The Bronchos netted two goals in the first 14 minutes of the half and pushed their lead up to 3-0. The RiverHawks would cut into the lead in the 71st minute when senior midfielder Kelsey Fisher scored her first-career goal off an assist from junior forward Anastasia Robinson. NSU took five shots after Fisher's goal and put four of them on frame but Broncho goalkeeper Elle Stover made all four saves.
 
NSU was outshot 19-17, but the teams were an even 6-6 in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (13-4) was unable to add to her school record 36 career victories. Woodruff played all 90 minutes and made three saves while allowing three goals. Stover (6-4-2) made five saves while allowing one goal.
 
NSU will look to rebound quickly as it heads to Bolivar, Missouri, to take on Southwest Baptist in the final match of the regular season. The contest will begin at noon Oct. 31. SBU is currently fourth in the MIAA standings with 18 points.
 
Scoring Summary
UCO                 1          2          –          3
NSU                 0          1          –          1
 
Individual Scoring
Katie Killion (UCO) at 38:26 (unassisted)
Katie Killion (UCO) at 53:36 (Morgan Cherry)
Kenna Dyess (UCO) at 58:38 (Katie Killion)
Kelsey Fisher (NSU) at 70:41 (Anastasia Robinson)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Elle Stover (UCO) – 5
Jordan Woodruff (NSU) – 3
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH CHASE WOOTEN
On what UCO does to cause problems…
"I thought UCO has gotten better since we played them last. They've grown into themselves a little bit. Obviously they were a good team the first time, but I thought it was a pretty balanced game where we missed some good chances. Tonight, I felt like the first half hour we did a pretty good job, then they were able to settle down and find feet a bit better than we were able to. We just coughed up the ball too regularly and they were very dangerous on the counter attack. If you had a do-over you would really want to stress the importance of holding onto the ball. They capitalized on their chances. They are certainly very dangerous going forward. We had our chances but we didn't put them away."
 
On the mindset heading into Saturday's regular-season finale…
"We need to regroup. We've had a good year but we're not done yet. We've still got some fight in us. We're certainly disappointed in the loss tonight, but our girls have had mental fortitude all season and I think we can get on point here in the next 48 hours."

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-