Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – A dominating offensive effort by SWOSU yielded a 2-0 victory for the Bulldogs over rival Northwestern Oklahoma State in both teams' Great American Conference opener at the Athletic Complex.
With 31 shots to their credit, the Dawgs tied for the fifth-most shots in a single game in program history, coincidentally that mark came in a victory against the Rangers in Alva, Okla., on September 13, 2009.
Cori Kelly tied the seventh-best mark for individual shots in a game with seven, including four on-goal.
Despite multiple attempts on Northwestern's goal, including two fantastic efforts by
Erica Brunet and Kelly that were just saved by Rangers keeper Briana Legaspi, the Bulldogs met the break without anything to show for their efforts. However, the defense that features the last two GAC Defenders of the Week in
Kylee Bertrand and Brunet held the Rangers to just three shots. After 45 minutes, the match was tied 0-0.
Almost immediately after the restart, the Bulldogs struck gold through
Samantha Nunez in the 54th minute. The redshirt-senior forward got onto the end of a terrific through-ball by
Sarah Wilson and drilled the ball into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season. She is now just two goals shy of the career mark set by former teammate
Kelsey Visor.
Charlotte Eastman added the exclamation mark four minutes later in the 58th minute. The defender squared up the ball on the right side of the box on a free kick following a Northwestern foul. A low, curling shot was the resulting effort and it sneaked past Legaspi on the near post to double the Dawgs' advantage. It was Eastman's first goal of the season.
Northwestern could only muster two shots over the final 45 minutes, as SWOSU peppered the Rangers goal to the tune of 19 shots. The Bulldogs cruised through to the end of the match to open conference play at 1-0.
Courtney Flores picked up a third consecutive clean sheet, resulting in 270 minutes of scoreless play by opponents. She was called into action three times, though each chance did little to trouble her.
SWOSU carries their three-game winning and shutout streaks into Thursday's match against East Central in Ada, Okla. Kickoff is tabbed for 4 pm.
