NORMAN, Okla.—The Northwestern State soccer team could not overcome a fast start by Oklahoma in a 9-0 loss in the regular season opener Wednesday evening at John Crain Field.
Oklahoma (1-0) scored three times in the first 12 minutes and four times in the opening half to take control, as the Demons (0-1) could not replicate last year's season-opening magic in this season's opener.
"There was some good and some bad from this opener," head coach
Ian Brophy said. "I don't think we played well, especially in the first half. In this one, there's lots to learn from and there are still plenty of positives to take from it."
Sooners leading point scorer from 2025 Kayla Keefer scored a hat trick in the first 12 minutes, starting the home team off strong, as her four total goals and the nine overall OU goals are both program records.
Her first came in the fourth minute off a penalty kick following an NSU penalty in the box. She stepped up to take the penalty and beat NSU goalkeeper
Saki Tsuchiya in the bottom left corner of the goal.
NSU's best chance in the first half came off the foot of senior
Emily Gundin, who quickly tried to answer at the four-minute mark, but was stopped by OU goalkeeper Callie Sullivan.
OU added its second goal in transition in the ninth minute, as Narissa Fults sent a perfect cross to the bottom left corner of the goal, where Keefer found the back of the net for the second time, as all she had to do was tap into the opening net.
Keefer completed her hat trick in the 12
th minute, as Fults dribbled up the left flank and shot it in on Tsuchiya, who saved it, but the rebound came right to Keefer and she knocked it in.
Ally Laccinole scored the final goal of the half on a header in the 28
th minute off a corner kick on the left side of the goal, as the corner sailed just over Tsuchiya's outstretched arms and right to Laccinole.
In the opening 45 minutes, OU out-shot NSU 13-1 and 25-2 for the game.
Tsuchiya had nice saves to try to keep NSU within striking distance, making a kick save in the 22
nd minute on a shot that was ticketed for the back of the net, one of her game-high seven saves.
The seven saves ties a career best, also stopping seven shots against Drake as a member of Valparaiso last season.
"Only maybe one goal was due to a Saki error," Brophy said. "She was clean and her distribution as good, as well as her ability to connect from the back. She came up with some big saves in big moments, despite the score."
There was no let-up in the second half by OU, as Kate Mcallister scored a little over a minute into the second half to make it 5-0.
Keefer scored her fourth on a break, one that was shot and deflected off Tsuchiya, but the ball still made its way to the back of the net. The four goals are an OU program record.
The Sooners wrapped up the game with goals from Fults, Brenna Hallam and Isabella Martinez.
In addition to Gundin's shot attempt,
Paige Baumgartner recorded the final shot attempt for the Demons.
It doesn't get any easier for NSU, as it travels to LSU on Sunday for the second game of the season before traveling to Houston (Aug. 20), UL Lafayette (Aug. 23) and Alcorn State (Sept. 3) to wrap up the five-game road trip to begin the season.
