| NEWMAN (0-0) AT OKLAHOMA BAPTIST (0-0) |
| 5:30 p.m. | Thursday, Aug. 31 |
| OBU Soccer Complex | Shawnee, Okla. |
| Live Stats |
SHAWNEE – The 2017 campaign begins in earnest for Oklahoma Baptist women's soccer when they welcome the Newman Jets to the OBU Soccer Complex on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. for both team's season opener. It's the second straight year the Lady Bison have opened the season in Shawnee.
The Lady Bison return nine of 11 starters from last season's squad that finished tied for third in the Great American Conference. The formidable strike duo of
Ruth King and
Abigail Hicks, who combined for 19 goals and seven assists, return to lead the OBU offense into the squad's first season as full members of the NCAA. Oklahoma Baptist averaged 1.68 goals per match, and will look to be more lethal this season after holding a conversion percentage of .087 last season.
Defensively, the entire starting back line of
Rachel Beiermann,
Kelsey Bumgarner,
Jennifer Goethe and
Lara Haring-Lovett returns to Bison Hill. That combination gave up just 11.3 shots per match and 1.18 goals per match. There will be a new starter between the sticks, however, due to the graduation of
Emma Beck this past May.
Newman went 7-6-5 last season and finished fifth in the Heartland Conference. Erin Mink is the Jets' leading scorer among the returning cast after notching six goals a season ago. Ashley Sweetnam returns as well as Newman's top keeper after posting a .93 goals-against average.
Oklahoma Baptist and Newman have met once prior to Thursday night's affair. That match, also a season opener, resulted in a 2-1 win for OBU in Wichita, Kansas, to start the 2015 season.
