EDMOND (Aug. 28) – Senior transfer Stephanie Lovely made a dramatic debut to spark No. 10-ranked Central Oklahoma to a season-opening 2-0 shutout of Oklahoma Christian before an NCAA Division II single-game record crowd of 2,139 Thursday night at Wantland Stadium.

An Edmond Memorial High School product who missed the last two years with injury while at Oklahoma State, Lovely scored on her first two shots of the season less than 10 minutes apart to stake the Bronchos to a 2-0 halftime lead and UCO's defense did the rest.

The youthful Bronchos, with 16 freshmen on their 26-player roster, were never in danger against the Eagles in winning for the 16th time in their last 17 home games.

“We made a lot of mistakes and didn't do nearly enough offensively, but we played solid defense and got a good win against a solid team,” UCO coach Mike Cook said. “Stephanie made a couple of nice plays for us and showed that she's going to have a big impact.

“It was a good way to start the season and let us know some things we need to work on.  I was really impressed with the crowd and appreciate all the support we got from our fans.”

The Bronchos outshot OC 11-5 in the defensive struggle and were hampered by 17 fouls and nine offsides calls.

UCO took the lead in the 13th minute when Lovely took a Tiffanie Meek pass and dribbled past OC's on-rushing goalkeeper before booting in the ball from eight yards out on the first shot of the game by either team.

The two teamed up again nine minutes later, with Lovely getting a nice long pass from Meek and racing down the right side before rifling in a shot from 15 yards away at the 21:54 mark.

UCO's defense kept the Eagles at bay, with Alli Miller, McKenzie Caldwell and Kelsey Springstead leading the way. Goalkeeper Josie Baker had three saves while going the distance between the posts in her first start.

The Bronchos return to action Saturday, traveling to Dallas to take on Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m. 

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