The Northwestern Oklahoma State University Lady Ranger soccer team completed their final road trip of the regular season in Arkansas when they faced Great American Conference opponents Harding University and Ouachita Baptist University.
The Lady Rangers fell a tough 4-0 to Harding on Thursday, but were able to bounce back and get the crucial 1-0 win over Ouachita Baptist on Saturday.
It took two overtime periods before junior Calvonis Prentice scored on a header in the third minute of the second overtime period. Redshirt sophomore Tiana Young-Mauchly had the assist. Goal keeper Kylee Wallace had her first start this season for the Lady Rangers, and had eight saves on the game.
The win over Ouachita Baptist was key to keep the Lady Rangers in the standings for post season playoffs. The win put the Lady Rangers fourth in the conference standings. The top four teams continue on to conference playoffs. The next two games are crucial for the Lady Rangers.
Junior Karla Lopez said the win on Saturday was extremely important. She said it was a win or die game. “If we hadn’t won that game we wouldn’t be in top four right now,” Lopez said.
Lopez said the games this week are crucial in order to keep playoff hopes alive. She said the team must focus on defending and shutting down their opponents’ options to score. “Once we shut them down, we’ll get in their heads and they won’t be able to score,” Lopez said.
Sophomore Yazmin Gomez said the team also needs to focus on staying positive.
“We need to focus on working as a unit because once we start connecting and passing we really spark,” Gomez said.
The Lady Rangers have one GAC match left in the regular season. The Lady Rangers will look to take Southern Nazarene University on Saturday at home.