Box ScoreARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU recorded their first road win of the season when they traveled to Arkadelphia, Ark. to take on Ouachita Baptist.
Charlotte Eastman scored on either side of
Cori Kelly's goal for the Bulldogs. Haley Hatcher and Kasey Smith scored for OBU.
The Bulldogs again started well against OBU. Within the first 15 minutes Kelly,
Eva Rule,
Jasmine Heffley and
Lauren Williams had all recorded shots, forcing OBU keeper Lauren Llanas into one save. SWOSU found the breakthrough in the 21st minute when
Olivia Butler took a corner. Just like on Friday night, Eastman rose highest to meet the ball and headed in her second goal of the season.
The two sides traded shots for the next 20 minutes until Kelly got her second of the season in the 43rd minute. She found herself open for a shot from 25 yards out and sent the ball in. The shot beat Llanas, doubling the Bulldogs' lead as they went into the locker rooms for halftime.
As the second half began, Butler and
Payton Warren forced Llanas into a pair of saves in the first ten minutes. The Tigers would find the opening goal of the second half, however, when Smith collected a rebounded shot and put it in the net, cutting SWOSU's lead in half in the 56th minute.
Not three minutes later, the Tigers committed a foul just outside of the area. Eastman stepped up to take the free kick and made no mistake as she curled it in from 23 yards out in the 59th minute. Eastman's brace was the first multi-goal game for a Bulldog since Kelly's on November 8 of last year against East Central in the Great American Conference tournament.
A desperate OBU team took seven of the next 11 shots in the match. Hatcher, who
Randa Castleberry and Eastman had been keeping frustrated all night, scored in the 79th minute. Her shot from eight yards out took a deflection off a SWOSU defender. The deflection sent
Courtney Flores the wrong way and the ball found the back of the net, pulling the Tigers within one with just over ten minutes to play.
OBU would take two more shots that never threatened to go in and the Bulldogs saw out the match to record their first win on the road this season. The win marked their first on the road since visiting OBU last season on October 27 when SWOSU won 1-0. It was also the first time SWOSU had scored multiple goals in a game since November 10, 2013 when they beat Harding in the GAC Championship 2-0.
The Bulldogs move to 2-7-1 on the season, and 2-2 in conference play. They return home to face Dallas Baptist on Thursday at 3 PM in their only non-conference game in October.
