Tech Faces No. 24 Oklahoma Friday On Senior Night

Friday, October 28

Lubbock, Texas

7:00 P.M.

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Tech Faces No. 24 Oklahoma Friday On Senior Night

October 27, 2016 | Women's Soccer

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The Red Raiders battle Oklahoma at the John Walker Soccer Complex on Friday in regular-season finale.

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech soccer team welcomes in No. 24 Oklahoma to the confines of the John Walker Soccer Complex on Friday at 7 p.m. for senior night, where the Red Raiders will honor their four senior class members.

Tech will recognize midfielder Maddy Crabtree, defenders Jade Dapaah and Meagan McCullough and goalkeeper Lauren Watson in a pregame ceremony for their contributions to the Red Raider soccer program.

"A ton," head coach Tom Stone said about what this senior class means to him. "I've joked all week that between three of the four, they have one good knee. But in all seriousness, they don't complain and they've played as hard as they possibly can.

"Jade Dapaah had two injuries the last 16 months and she's pushed through it and has rejoined our team. Meagan McCullough has been a stalwart for us from her sophomore year on, is just as fast as the wind and has been a constant threat. Lauren Watson has evolved into one of the best keepers in the Big 12, if not the country, and should play at the next level next year. And Maddy Crabtree has been one of our most competitive warriors since the day she got here. She's undersized and not as fast as some of the other forwards we've had, but it's been irrelevant to her game because she's been a goal scorer. She loves this team, has pushed everybody and has been a great leader this year, even from the bench. So, it's going to be hard to watch these kids go and we certainly don't want it to be on Friday."

The final two spots in next week's Big 12 Tournament are up for grabs with one match to go in the 2016 regular season. Heading into the weekend, the Red Raiders are ranked ninth in the conference standings, with the opportunity to move as high as seventh. If Tech defeats Oklahoma on Friday night, the Red Raiders will continue their season with a trip to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. If the Red Raiders win and the outcome of the Texas/TCU contest is a draw, Tech will have the No. 7 seed. If Tech wins and there is a winner of the Texas/TCU match, Tech will have the No. 8 seed.

Oklahoma (12-4-2, 4-2-1) comes into the weekend ranked fourth in the conference, with a chance to move as high as No. 2 and drop as low as sixth depending on results around the league. OU is one of three conference teams ranked in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll at No. 24, while checking in at No. 5 in the NCAA RPI rankings. A win for OU would match the school record in both the overall and conference categories.

The OU defense is led by redshirt senior goalkeeper Kassidie Stade, who has tallied seven shutouts this season, which ranks second in the conference, including three in Big 12 play. On the other side of the ball, the OU attack runs through senior forward Liz Keester, who has eight goals and six assists for 22 points this year, as the three categories each rank top three in the league, respectively.

The Red Raiders (8-7-2, 1-6-0) are looking to extend their season with a win against Oklahoma on Friday. Last weekend, Tech dropped a pair of road contests at Texas, 2-0, on Oct. 21, and at TCU, 1-0, on Oct. 23. A week after setting the conference high for saves in a conference match with eight, senior goalkeeper Lauren Watson did it again against the Longhorns, racking up nine saves. Five of Tech's six conference losses have come in one-goal contests.

Friday will wrap up the Big 12 regular-season schedule, which was a daunting eight-match slate. Four of Tech's Big 12 opponents are ranked or receiving votes in the latest NSCAA poll. Two of the Red Raiders non-conference opponents also appear in this week's poll.

BUILDING A WALL
Watson entered the season with 168 career saves, needing only seven to move into No. 5 on the career saves list at Texas Tech. After recording nine against Arizona and two more in the win over Northeastern, along with her four in the opening weekend, she took sole possession of the fifth spot in the standings. Her nine saves against Arizona on Aug. 26 are tied for the most in a single-match by a Big 12 goalkeeper this season. Last weekend, she added nine more saves on the road at Texas and three at TCU, giving her 75 this season for a career total of 243. In the Iowa State match, she passed Victoria Esson for fourth all-time at Texas Tech at 213. The third-place keeper, Megan Knauss, put together a career mark of 266 saves from 2002-05. Her nine saves against the Longhorns are the most for a Big 12 keeper in a conference match this season.

IRON WOMEN
The Red Raiders have had 13 different players log all 90+ minutes of action in at least one match this season. Leading the way is senior keeper Lauren Watson, who has been in goal for every minute of every contest in 2016. Defenders Rebekah O'Brien and Brooke Denesik follow closely behind in full-matches played with 12 each. The other 10 competitors to have accomplished the feat so far include: Cassie Boren (9), Mary Heiberger (3), Carly Wickenheiser (5), Jordan Duke (2), Jordie Harr (2), Gwennie Puente (1), Cassie Conarty (1), Jade King (1) and Margaret Begley (1) and Jade Dapaah (2). Included in those 13 are five who have played in all 110 minutes of Tech's two overtime contests this season, as Watson & O'Brien played the entirety of both.

FORMATION
Through 17 matches, the Red Raiders have trotted out 15 different starting lineups. The opening night starting XI was repeated in the third match of the year against Arizona. The other two contests where there was a similar lineup came during the middle of the year when the Red Raiders were on the road at Loyola Marymount and in the Big 12 opener at Kansas.

AWARDS SEASON
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Watson & sophomore defender Brooke Denesik were named to the 2016-17 CoSIDA Academic All-District teams on Thursday. The Red Raider duo were nominated with a 4.00 GPA, making Tech the only school with two representatives in District 7 with perfect grade point averages. They will be up for Academic All-America honors, which will be voted on later in the month.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
Tech has had nine different goal scorers in 2016. On Sept. 23 in Lawrence, No. 9 came from junior defender Cassie Conarty, who found the ball at midfield against Kansas, dribbled it up near the Jayhawk box, then fired a shot to the right-side of the goal for the score.

CAREER FIRSTS
Seven Red Raiders have notched their first career goals during the 2016 season. The last to do so was sophomore midfielder Jordan Duke, who tallied the lone goal over ORU on Sept. 9 with a header after locating a corner kick from sophomore defender Margaret Begley from the far side of the field. While three are freshman, the other half have come from two juniors (Rebekah O'Brien & Natalie Schmutz) and two sophomores (Cassie Boren & Duke).

YOUNG FIREPOWER
Texas Tech freshmen have put up eight of the team's 19 goals this season. Five have come from the team-leader in goals, forward Jade King, while midfielder Jordie Harr and redshirt freshman defender Gabbie Puente have posted two and one scores, respectively, in 2016.

KING'S KINGDOM
Freshman forward Jade King is a threat to put a ball in the back of the net every time she touches the ball. She notched her team-high fourth & fifth goals of the season against Iowa State on Sept. 25 in Tech's 3-0 win over the Cyclones. Her two scores are the most by an individual player in a single conference match this season. She sits in second in overall in the league in shots (68) and shots per game (4.00), while maintaining her top 35 NCAA ranking in the latter at No. 32.

-4.5
Senior goalkeeper Lauren Watson posted her fifth shutout of the season on Sept. 25 after a 3-0 victory against Iowa State. Her total ranks third in the conference standings. Already sitting in second place in the all-time records at Texas Tech in career shutouts, she is now 4.5 behind school record holder Victoria Esson for the lead in the category with 24.5.