Bronchos Roll On

10/30/2011 4:25:00 PM

Box Score
Photo Gallery

EDMOND (Oct. 30) – And now they wait.

Central Oklahoma put an exclamation point on the regular season in Sunday's finale at sun-drenched Tom Thompson Field, using another suffocating defensive effort and a pair of first-half goals to shut out Northeastern State 2-0.

The 20th-ranked Bronchos extended their school-record winning streak to 15 in a row and finished the regular season 15-3 in rebounding from an 0-3 start, with UCO now forced to sit until NCAA Division II national tournament bids are announced on Nov. 7.

Forty-eight teams make the national playoffs, with six selected for each of eight regions around the country. The Bronchos were second in last week's South Central Regional poll and should be a shoo-in for their eighth national tournament berth since 2000, though UCO is also hoping to host part of the regional.

“Our goal even back when we were 0-3 was that we could possibly go 15-3,” head coach Mike Cook said. “To get to that is an amazing feat and it's a tribute to these girls. The hard work and buying into what we're trying to do here and everybody pulling together.

“We're really excited about getting that accomplished and from here we just have to sit and wait and see what happens. I would like to think it's a pretty sure thing we're in at least, so we'll be practicing like we're in and work on things that will help us in the national tournament.”

The Bronchos outshot NSU 19-10 and scored twice in the first 20 minutes of the contest to take control, then relied on their shut-down defense to do the rest. It was the 11th shutout in the long winning streak – and seventh in the last eight games – as UCO has outscored its last 15 opponents 40-4.

Katy Kashwer, one of five seniors playing their final regular-season home game, gave the Bronchos the only score they would need just 9:57 in when she headed a shot past NSU's keeper off a Nawal Kirts cross for her fourth goal of the season.

Brittni Walker made it 2-0 in the 20th minute, taking a pass from Ashton Morris and knocking in a left-footed shot from 15 feet out for her team-leading 10th goal.

The RiverHawks had just three shots on goal, with Brandi Bartley making two saves and Samantha Rusk one. Bartley made a nice stop on a header from close range late in the first half, while Rusk had the 181st save of her career in the final minutes on a direct kick.

Miranda Thorne keyed UCO's defensive efforts, limiting NSU leading scorer Rachel Sordahl to four shots and none on goal. Jordan Hutchison, Shayna Kindsvater and McKenzie Caldwell supplied plenty of help in the back, with Kirts helping the Bronchos control the middle of the field.

Kashwer, Morris, Rusk, Caldwell and Lizzie Merritt were UCO's seniors who were honored after the contest, with that fivesome having played in a combined 364 games during their careers.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories