#22 USAO Extends Win Streak and Keeps Championship Hopes Alive

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Saturday evening, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (14-1-1, 7-1 SAC) picked up a very important 2-1 victory on the road at Oklahoma City University (9-5-1, 5-2-1 SAC). The Drovers improve to 15-19-1 against the Stars all-time, dating back to September of 2001. Furthermore, USAO has won eight of the last nine meetings against OCU since November 2018.

In the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, USAO currently sits in a three-way tie at the top of the conference, alongside MACU and JBU, with identical 7-1 records against SAC opponents this season. With one game remaining in the regular season for all parties, the regular season finale will have extra importance. The top eight teams in the conference advance to the SAC Tournament and the higher seeds will host throughout the tournament.

On Saturday, the Drovers got off to a terrific start as Ilse de Jong scored her ninth goal of the season on a long shot from outside the box in the 7^th minute of the first half. USAO extended the lead to 2-0 in the 11^thminute as Paula Casajus capitalized on a poor pass from an OCU defender to score her fourth goal of the season. 

Following halftime, the Stars cut their deficit to 2-1 with a goal in the 65^th minute of regulation, but they were unable to get any closer as USAO locked down on defense for the remainder of the game. 

As a team, USAO attempted 10 shots, with five being on goal, while OCU attempted 11 shots, three of which were on target. Both teams were whistled for five fouls. USAO attempted three corner kicks and Oklahoma City had six attempts out of the offensive corners. 

Ashlyn Lonberg got the start between the pipes for USAO and stopped two of the three shots she faced, earning her 11^th win of the season. With the victory, Lonberg owns an incredible career win-loss record to 22-2-1.

WHAT'S NEXT?

USAO will conclude the regular season on Tuesday, October 29 as they play a double-header on the road at Texas Wesleyan University. The women's game is scheduled to kick-off at 5:00 PM CT, followed by the men's game at 7:30 PM CT in Fort Worth, Texas.  

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