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Sooners thrash Bears in tuneup
Oklahoma sophomore Caitlin Mooney shone in her debut for Oklahoma with three second half goals en route to a 6-1 OU victory over Northern Colorado in exhibition play on Friday at the OU Soccer Complex.
Mooney, an Oklahoma native, transferred to OU after appearing in the Sweet 16 with the University of Maryland a year ago.
Prior to Mooney’s offensive display, the Sooners held a one-goal lead on the Bears after the first 45 minutes of action. Sophomore Dria Hampton put OU on the board after she placed a free kick from 24 yards out into the upper 90 corner of the near post.
OU’s defense allowed five shots in the first half and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire was forced to make two saves, one on a near score with a Bears’ attacker in the six-yard line box.
The defense limited UNC to three shots in the second half and helped pave the way for the offense, led by Mooney, to explode in the final 45 minutes.
While Mooney tallied scores in the 55th, 66th and 68th minutes, OU also received contributions from a familiar face, senior Whitney Palmer, who gave OU a 2-0 lead.
The preseason All-Big 12 pick showed off her speed throughout the contest and after her initial shot was saved by Bears’ goalkeeper Kirstin Salminen, she gathered the deflection and found the back of the net in the 50th minute.
The Bears cut the lead down to 2-1 after Ariel Cook scored on a blast from 35 yards out, but the Sooners immediately countered on Mooney’s first score and thanks to another newcomer, freshman Zoe Dickson. The Sooners tallied 12 shots in each half and Palmer had a game-high seven, followed by Mooney with four.
The Bears finished with 10 players as junior midfielder Kimmie Feidler was booked for a red card and ejected from the game in the 75th minute.
On Monday,
On August 16, the Bears will come home to play their last preseason game against Regis University before beginning regular-season play on Aug. 21 at Jackson Field against Air Force Academy.
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