By NICK VILLALOBOS
Student Reporter
The Northwestern soccer team was unable to keep momentum from a 3-1 victory against Oklahoma Wesleyan as they fought with rival Southwestern to a 0-0 draw.
The Rangers took a break from conference play Oct. 9 as they played the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles in Bartlesville.
The Eagles struck first at the 21-minute mark when Kaka Delahaye slipped one past Ranger goalie Laura Hughes, who made her first start in the net this season. Both she and Courtney Herian shared equal time in the goal as they replaced injured teammate Briana Legaspi.
Ranger Karyn Bernal was able to get the equalizer at the 30-minute mark with help from teammate Jessica Lynch.
The Rangers added two more goals in the second half. One came from Alyssa Williams at the 64-minute mark, giving her a total of four on the season. The last one came with just nine minutes remaining in the half from Ranger Leidiane Capobianco. The goal was her team-leading sixth of the season.
The late goals secured a 3-1 victory over the Eagles and also gave the Rangers much-needed momentum as they headed to Weatherford, Okla., Sunday to face rival Southwestern in conference play.
When play began for the Rangers, Legaspi was back from injury and fully tuned for the showdown against the Bulldogs of Southwestern.
The Bulldogs came out firing early and controlled the entire first half. Southwestern was able to outshoot the Rangers 12-3 during the first 45 minutes of play. Despite the completely one-sided battle that Southwestern and Northwestern engaged in, the score remained deadlocked after the first period. Legaspi finished with eight saves in the half.
The Rangers did manage to attack the Bulldogs in the second half, but Southwestern goalie Courtney Flores was on point as well. Flores recorded only two saves in the half even though the Rangers had a total of six shots during the half. The other shots were off the mark.
The dominance from both goalies as well as the back and forth play from both teams is what sent the game into overtime, as neither team was able to break the 0-0 lock in regulation time. The Rangers already have been in this situation twice in the season, so the two 10-minute extra time periods were nothing new for them.
The first overtime period was a stalemate as both teams was again unable to break the 0-0 lock. The Rangers managed only one shot at the goal while Legaspi blocked three of the four Southwestern shots.
With the score still locked after the first overtime period, it meant a second overtime period was necessary.
When the second and final 10 minute overtime period began, it was the Bulldogs who took control. They recorded four shots to the Rangers’ zero. Fortunately for the Rangers, Legaspi was able to stay sharp as she recorded three more saves during the period. Legaspi finished with a staggering total of 16 saves to the Bulldogs’ two. The Bulldogs, though, did record 28 total shots to the Rangers’ 10.
Both teams fought hard for the full 110 minutes but neither was able to break the 0-0 deadlock. It was the Rangers’ third draw on the season, putting their conference record at 0-3-2 and their overall record at 5-4-3.
Legaspi claimed the Goalkeeper of the Week for the Great American Conference for the second time in three weeks, following her 16 total saves throughout the entire 110 minutes of play.
Legaspi’s big saves day ranked her in sixth all-time in a single game at Northwestern.
The Rangers play again Thursday in Ada, Okla. as they take on the East Central Tigers for round two in conference play.