WEATHERFORD – SWOSU Soccer defeated the rival Rangers of Northwestern 4-1 on Wednesday afternoon to kick off fall break. It was the first time this season the Dawgs scored four goals in a match.
The win is a timely one, as the Bulldogs (2-2-2 GAC) entered the day outside of the top-4 in the conference rankings – a spot that represents the ability to qualify for postseason play.
Philippine de Sancy emerged as a huge reason for the offensive output. She scored the game-tying, and game-winning goals in the first half after coming off the bench. She entered Wednesday without a goal.
It was Northwestern who struck first in the match off a wild free kick in the 12th minute from past midfield that managed to bounce perfectly past a jumping Terra Rybuck and into the net.
With 14 minutes to play before halftime, de Sancy took a soft short pass from Micaella Swain in rhythm from the top of the box and delivered a line drive off her right foot to the upper left corner of the goal for the equalizer.
Then, with seconds ticking down before halftime, de Sancy created her own shot from inside the box following a pass from Hannah Guiterrez – placing the ball in nearly the exact spot as her first goal, this time off her left foot.
The Dawgs led 2-1 at halftime.
An insurance goal was added six minutes after the break thanks to a breakaway setup from Sola Tsruta following a throw in. She delivered a pass to a running Elvira Gunnarsson who kept the momentum with a pass that found Guiterrez inside the box. With Guiterrez and the Northwestern goalie both converging towards the ball, it was Guiterrez who got there first and was able to kick the ball home for goal number three.
The final blow came from Ruth Vasquez with under two minutes to play. She netted her third goal of the season after a Ranger defender mishandled a ball which allowed Vasquez a 1-on-1 with the goalie, which she took advantage of.
The Bulldogs finished with a season high 25 shots overall and 10 shots on goal and withstood 10 total and four on target from Northwestern.
SWOSU's unbeaten streak against Northwestern extends to 18 matches, dating back to 2014.
Conference action continues Saturday (Oct. 14) for the Bulldogs when they travel to Southern Nazarene. That match is set to kickoff at 5pm in Bethany.
