Clarksville, Ark.-The U of O women's soccer team recorded 28 shots in a 2-1 victory over Williams Baptist College in their home opener Saturday.
Video Highlights and Hannah Carter's Goal: http://youtu.be/dlhvTUD_XeQ
Ozarks (1-1-0) held a 2-0 lead late in the match before Williams Baptist (0-1-0) made things interesting. Williams Baptist put a shot in the back of the net on a free kick in the 85th minute to force Ozarks into a defensive mode. Ozarks' defense then withstood Williams Baptist's offensive momentum the rest of the match to secure the win. Haley Gilliam scored off a rebound of her own shot in the 13th minute to put the Lady Eagles in front 1-0. Ozarks created numerous chances in the first half totaling an impressive 16 shots and four corner kicks. Gilliam was on the attack for the entire match and had seven shots alone in the first half. Ozarks was able to distribute the ball on a number of breakaways, one of which created a great shot from Frances Adams in the 42nd minute.
"The team as a whole worked very hard today," said head coach Bryan Drotar. "The ladies left everything on the field. It was great to see their level of intensity and desire. They put constant pressure on Williams Baptist, which resulted in our first goal."
Drotar was pleased with the way his team played after a road loss less than 24 hours earlier.
"We stumbled against Lyon College yesterday," he said. "Today we made some adjustments and really began to get on the same page as a team. We still have areas to fix, but we took a major step in the right direction. We have some depth all the way down our roster once some of our bumps and bruises heal."
In the second half, Hannah Carter drilled a beautiful free kick from 30 yards out to give Ozarks a 2-0 advantage in the 82nd minute. Ozarks created more chances in the second half with an aggressive attack from the players up front. Gilliam hit rocket shot in the 52nd minute only to have goalkeeper Abby Bormann deliver a nice save.
Ozarks posted 12 shots in the second half to total 28 on the day. Adams finished with nine shots and Carter had three.
Codie Freeman tallied four saves.
The Lady Eagles will travel to Conway to face Hendrix College September 2.
