The Pioneers were held in check over the weekend. Their first matchup was against the #5 team in the country in Oklahoma City. The Stars came out firing with a quick score 2 minutes into the game. The Pioneers responded well by almost scoring off a free kick from
Ashley Peter, but the OKC goalie managed to tip the ball into the bar to keep Peter from scoring. Over the course of the game, Oklahoma City showed why they are ranked #5 in the country while scoring four more goals off of Pioneer mistakes.
"Oklahoma City was a fantastic team," said Coach Skellar. "They were very dynamic up top and their movement was very deceptive and caught us off guard at the beginning. After getting scored on, I was very happy with our response as we were actually able to pin OKC in a little as we were chasing the game at that point. We need to grow from this and understand that in order to accomplish our goals, there is another level to we need to get to."
The next day, the Pioneers played against John Brown and came out firing getting a couple of early corners and shots on frame. MNU was unable to convert, however, but the Pioneers pressed JBU all over the field not allowing them to play or connect. When MNU won the ball, they passed the ball well but were unable to convert on any shots. As the game progressed, JBU was able to score an off balance goal on a shot from Whitney Brannan and went into halftime up 1-0 over the pioneers. After half time, the Pioneers were able to pull a goal back to even the score at 1-1 off a freekick by
Kara Quinn. MNU kept pushing and pressing looking for the go-ahead goal but instead got countered and scored on by Laura Garcia of JBU. JBU ended the scoring with about ten minutes left through Brannan again off of a corner.
"For us, this was a great test of a weekend against two great opponents as well as our first road trip and all of the strange situations we encountered over the weekend. It also showed us that the little things in the games matter and giving the ball away in silly situations can get you beat. However, I am proud of the way the girls played. They played hard and never stopped trying to do the things that we have been teaching. We are on the right track. We just need to stick together and keep believing in each other."
