By Jay Barlett
Athletic Communications
Northwestern Oklahoma State women’s soccer got back on track Monday, beating the East Central University Tigers 3-2 to kick off a three-game road trip. Karla Lopez, Audrey Salas and Calvonis Prentice each scored for the red-and-black and goalkeeper Kiara Fontanilla got the win in relief of starter Reagan Allen.
The Tigers jumped out to an early advantage 12 minutes into the match when a pass from Alexis Castillo sprung Summer Whalen for a breakaway goal. Northwestern managed seven shots towards the ECU net, but headed into halftime facing a 1-0 deficit.
“Our effort in the first half wasn’t where it needed to be” said head coach James Ross. “ECU outworked us early, but we made our adjustments and the girls responded well in the second half.”
Northwestern finally broke through and tied the match in the 55th minute when Lopez drove home a rebound from in tight to make it 1-1. The goal was her first of the season and eighth of her Ranger career.
But the Rangers weren’t done there.
After Prentice was taken down hard in the box, the Rangers were awarded their second penalty kick of the season. Salas, the 5’4 senior, was called upon to take the PK and made no mistake, beating ECU keeper Chloe Hull for her second tally in three games to give Northwestern its first lead of the match.
The Tigers didn’t go down without a fight. Less than four minutes after the Rangers went ahead, East Central answered with a strike from a sharp angle and tied the game at two goals apiece, when Morgan Medina caught Fontanilla off guard.
The two teams would trade scoring chances midway through the second half until Northwestern delivered the decisive blow with 10:46 to play in the contest. Priscilla Villalobos juked her way past a defender near the goal line before finding Prentice with a pass out front. The Californian›s shot was partially blocked but ricocheted off an ECU defender before sailing over the head of Hull and into the back of the net.
“For the last week, I thought we were the better team, but we haven’t been able to finish,” added Ross after the win. “Tonight, the girls worked hard, communicated with each other and competed, and that’s all I ask for. If we continue to do that, we’ll be in every game.”
Northwestern Oklahoma State women’s soccer outdueled Southern Nazarene University Thursday to win its second straight match. Senior Calvonis Prentice scored twice for the Rangers, avenging a heartbreaking double-overtime loss earlier in the season.
Prentice tallied her second and third goals of the year, with both beating SNU goalkeeper Michaela Owen from the left side.
After a defensively driven back-and-forth first half, the two teams entered the break scoreless at Wes Harmon Field.
Freshman goaltender Kiara Fontanilla turned away two shots in the frame to give the Rangers a fighting chance.
Just four minutes into the second half, Northwestern opened the scoring with a Prentice tally to go ahead 1-0.
Southern Nazarene would counter with a goal of their own in the 75th minute when Karsyn Matthews buried a rebound past Fontanilla to even it up at one goal apiece.
The Rangers outshot the Crimson Storm 17-13 in a physical contest that saw four yellow cards and a red card issued. Yazmin Gomez led the red-and-black with five shots, including four on goal while six other Rangers had two shots each.
A consistent attack allowed the Rangers to maintain pressure, and that pressure paid off in the 79th minute as Prentice delivered the game winning goal to land Northwestern back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Northwestern Oklahoma State women’s soccer suffered a 4-0 loss to the Oklahoma Baptist Bison Saturday, wrapping up the Rangers 2018 season on the road.
The Rangers finish the year with a 3-12-1 record in head coach James Ross’ first season at the helm.
The Rangers rode into Shawnee looking to make it three-straight wins for the first time since 2017, but ran into a strong Oklahoma Baptist squad ranked fifth in the central region.
Oklahoma Baptist took an early advantage when Ruth King beat Northwestern goalkeeper Reagan Allen just six minutes into the contest.
The Bison would go on to score twice more in the first half, leaving the Rangers to face a 3-0 deficit at the break.
Allen and fellow freshman Kiara Fontanilla would split time in goal for the Rangers as Fontanilla took to the net in the second half. OBU scored again in the 66th minute to extend its lead to 4-0.
Facing a tough opponent, Northwestern was overpowered by a Bison offense that won the 2018 Great American Conference regular season title with a perfect 12-0 record in GAC play.
The Rangers put up a fight but were outshot 22-3 in its last match of the 2018 season.