By NICK VILLALOBOS
Student Reporter
Ranger soccer continued their slide on the road against Ouachita Baptist and Harding over the weekend suffering 2-1 losses to each team.
Last Friday, the Northwestern soccer team took on the OBU Tigers in Arkansas. Rangers realized quickly that the 1-7-1 Tigers were not going to be just a push over team. Tigers came out firing at the Rangers goal recording 11 shots to the Rangers six in the first 30 minutes. The Tigers were able to get one on the board when Tiger Kasey Smith launched the header shot past Rangers goalie Briana Legaspi to take the 1-0 lead at the 32 minute mark.
Rangers then went into attack mode after the goal by the Tigers to try to close the gap with a crucial equalizer. Unfortunately, the Rangers were unsuccessful in their efforts due to Tiger goalie Lauren Lianes. Lianes finished the first half saving all four of the Rangers shots on goal.
The dominant pressure for the Tigers continued early on in the second half as well as they began hammering shot after shot at the Rangers goal. Ranger Legaspi was able to save all but one when Tiger Haley Hatcher punched one past her at the 53 minute mark for her sixth goal of the season.
The scene looked all too familiar for the Rangers with 30 minutes left as they were in roughly the same situation against Southern Nazarene the game before.
Down 2-0 with only 30 minutes left in the game, the Rangers went on another ferocious attack. This time the attack would turn out to be a success when in the 66 minute Ranger Alyssa Williams got her header shot past Tiger Lianes and directly into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
In the closing minutes, after the Williams goal and down only 2-1 now, the Rangers finally found some momentum. The momentum however was unable to be used to score a much needed equalizer which would have sent the game into overtime. So as the final whistle blew, Rangers found their hard fought effort not paying off and they suffered their second loss in a row, losing on the road to the Ouachita Baptist Eagles 2-1.
The same result took place against Harding as well on Sunday.
When play began against the number one ranked Harding Bison’s, the Rangers found themselves searching to put one in the win column in conference play and end the dreaded two game losing streak. The Rangers looked like a team that was desperate for the win too, as they managed to take control early. However the game would soon go into a back and forth battle for the entire first half leaving it at a 0-0 deadlock when the whistle sounded at the end of the first 45 minutes.
The Rangers finished the first half with five shots, three on goal, and Rangers goalie Briana Legaspi finished with two saves. The Bison finished with six shots, two on goal and three saves.
When the second half play got underway, both the Rangers and Bison were looking to break the 0-0 deadlock early. At only a minute into the half, the Bison were able to do just that when Adair Schmidt managed to slip one past Rangers Legaspi to break the deadlock. The Ranges though, answered with a goal of their own just two minutes later, when Ellen Trotter got the assist from teammate Alyssa Williams, to lock the game back up a 1-1.
The game then went into another back and forth battle, until the closing minute when the Bison poured it on. With just 30 seconds remaining in the half, Bison Melissa Minnich was able to break the 1-1 deadlock with her first goal of the season. The late goal was heartbreak for the Rangers who were looking for an all-important win in conference play and the upset on the number one ranked Harding Bison.
The Northwestern Rangers finished with 12 shots, eight on goal and five saves. Ranges fall to 4-4-2 on the season, and 0-3-1 in conference play.
Northwestern continues road play tonight as they take on the Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville at 6 p.m.