SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist is hitting the road on Saturday to face first-place Harding for a 10 a.m. Great American Conference match in Searcy.
Earlier this season, HU came to Bison Hill, held a 2-1 halftime advantage before exploding for three more goals in half number two. By match's end, HU won 5-2.
At this current standing, Harding is 6-4-1 overall and in first place in the GAC at 5-1. As for the Bison, they are 2-9-1 with a 1-5-1 GAC mark. That slots the green and gold in sixth. To qualify for the GAC Tournament in early November, teams must be within the top four of the league standings.
Below are notes on both teams.
For the Bison:
The green and gold were supposed to have a match against Ouachita earlier this week. However, rain on Tuesday forced a postponement to Nov. 2.
In the last matchup with Harding, the visitors held a 17-15 shots advantage and 7-2 corner kicks lead. It was the third time this fall OBU gave up five goals to an opponent.
To date, OBU has been outscored by almost a 3-1 margin in 12 contests. Opponents have scored 34 goals compared to the Bison's 12, which rank sixth in the league.
Hali White and
Addison Gray lead the team with three goals apiece. Those slot both players in the top-10 of the GAC in that category.
Defensively, the Bison have given up multiple goals in six of its seven GAC matches. The only time the green and gold did not allow two or more goals was during its Sept. 29 home match with ECU (2-0).
For Harding:
HU has won four in a row which started on Sept. 26 when it defeated Oklahoma Baptist 5-2. Most recently, Harding defeated Ouachita 2-0 on Oct. 7.
This is the first match for HU in 10 days.
In the previous matchup against OBU, Katie Jones scored a hat trick. Remarkably, those are her only goals of the year.
Teammate Mykala Ulrich leads HU with four goals, two assists and 10 points. Her goal and point totals are top-six in the conference.
Also, of note offensively, Gabie Eddins is the GAC leader with six assists.
On the defensive front, Maysa Willis, HU's goalie has played in nine of the team's 11 matches. In that time, she's got the No. 1 goals against average mark in the league at 0.82. She is also second in shutouts (4).
