Murray State University Athletics
Soccer Heads West For Weekend Pair
9/3/2010 10:07:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Fresh off its first victory of the season, the Murray State women's soccer team travels to Tulsa and Oklahoma State for a pair of non-conference matches, kicking off against the Golden Hurricane Friday at 7:35 p.m. and the Cowgirls at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
It is the first-ever matchup against Tulsa, while Oklahoma State defeated MSU 4-0 in 2006 in the only meeting between the programs.
The Racers are sure to be tested against two teams off to hot starts in the first two weeks of the season.
"We knew coming in to the season that these would be two big matchups,” head coach Beth Acreman said. “We learned a lot this past weekend and we know we're going to get two tough games on the road, which can only really help us going into conference play. We want to challenge ourselves every year and I think these two games will definitely do that.”
MSU is coming off a 1-1-0 weekend that included a 4-2 loss against South Florida and a 1-0 overtime victory against Alabama A&M.
Senior Laken Dirkes put MSU (1-1-2) in the win column, scoring on a breakaway in the first minute of overtime against the Bulldogs. The shutout victory by keeper Tara Isbell was her third in four matches in 2010.
The Golden Hurricane (3-1) are coming off of a 4-0 drilling of Oral Roberts to go with earlier victories over Arkansas-Little Rock and Northwestern State. Their lone loss this season came in a 1-0 defeat to Oklahoma.
The Tulsa offense is led by a pair of underclassmen, with freshman Claire Nicholson holding the team scoring lead with four goals and sophomore Stephanie Aitken one behind with three scores. They have outscored their opponents 13-2 on the season with goalkeeper Katie Bykowski tallying two shut outs.
Oklahoma State dropped its first decision of the year in a 1-0 road defeat to third-ranked Portland. The 18th-ranked Cowgirls have wins over Oregon and Oklahoma so far this season.
Sophomore goalkeeper Adriana Franch has allowed just one goal this season in three matches for the two-time defending Big12 Champions. Kyndall Treadwell and Whitney Wernimont have each scored once for OSU.
“We want to go out this weekend and play confident,” said Acreman. “Playing on the road is a little different, but we're used to it after our first two games away from home. Right now we need to get ready for conference play and playing these two teams will benefit us.”
The Racers return home Friday, Sept. 10 to host IPFW at 3:00 p.m. at Cutchin Field.
