Mercer University
Oklahoma State
Women's Soccer Drops 2-0 Decision to Oklahoma State
8/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Mercer women's soccer team closed out opening weekend with a 2-0 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Sunday afternoon.
TURNING POINT
Despite spending a majority of time on defense, Mercer held Oklahoma State scoreless for the first 36 minutes before the Cowgirls scored off a rebound shot that Mercer's Maggie Cropp originally saved. A second goal for OSU in the 54th minute put it just out of reach for Mercer.
WOMAN OF THE MATCH
Senior goalkeeper Maggie Cropp led Mercer's defense for the second straight game, making a season-high nine saves. Cropp faced a total of 26 shots and allowed just two goals.
STAT OF THE GAME
While Oklahoma State outshot Mercer, 26-3, the Bears' defense kept the Cowgirls on their toes, as OSU only put 11 shots on goal.
NOTABLES
- Freshman Caroline Smith earned the first start of her career, as Mercer started five rookies against Oklahoma State.
- Maggie Cropp played her first complete game in goal of the season, making nine saves and allowing two goals. Cropp's career high is 12 saves, made in the Southern Conference tournament last year.
- Mercer took three shots on the night, one each from Valeria Bermeo, Haley McDuffee and Haleigh Svede. Both Bermeo and McDuffee put their shots on goal.
QUOTABLES
"We knew coming into today's match that it would be a tough matchup, with Oklahoma State having off on Friday night and us having a tough game with Tulsa. We came in with a game plan in the first half and we were a little sluggish. We weren't as mentally and physically tough as I'd hoped we'd be in the first half and I challenged the team in the second half and we came out with some passion and played much better. I'm very proud of the effort the players put forth in the second half. Unfortunately we had two breakdowns that led to two goals. We knew it would be a tough weekend as we faced two teams that are potential NCAA tournament teams. We knew it would be a tough challenge and I', proud of the team's efforts overall." – Head Coach Tony Economopoulos
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer moves to 0-2 on the season, while Oklahoma State starts off with a 1-0 mark.
UP NEXT
The Bears will return to Macon and open the home slate of the season on Friday, Aug. 28 against Charlotte at 7 p.m. at Bear Field.
For all the latest information on Mercer women's soccer, please visit MercerBears.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Mercer soccer on Twitter at @MercerWSoccer or www.twitter.com/MercerWSoccer.
