Texas Tech Takes Down No. 24 OU, 1-0, In Double Overtime

Friday, October 28

Lubbock, Texas

7:00 P.M.

Texas Tech Athletics

9-7-2, 2-6-0

Oklahoma

12-5-2, 4-3-1

OT 3

OT 4

Oklahoma

Texas Tech

Texas Tech Takes Down No. 24 OU, 1-0, In Double Overtime

October 28, 2016 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Freshman forward Jade King broke the scoring drought in the 104th minute for the game winner.

LUBBOCK, Texas – Six minutes, 48 seconds.

That was the time left on the clock when freshman forward Jade King's shot from just inside the top of the box dinged off the bottom of the crossbar and into the net for the game-winning score. The tally gave Texas Tech the 1-0 victory over No. 24 Oklahoma on Friday's senior night at the John Walker Soccer Complex.

The win clinched the Red Raiders' (9-7-2, 2-6-0) spot in the Big 12 Soccer Championship, as they will be the No. 8 seed and will open against top-ranked West Virginia (16-1-1, 8-0-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 11:30 a.m. in Kansas City.

"Six and a half minutes before we had to turn our cleats in," head coach Tom Stone said. "This season was literally six minutes from being over, and I thought we played like it was six minutes from being over from the opening whistle.

"Oklahoma is top four in the RPI and we had to win, we couldn't tie. We played an aggressive formation, aggressive mentality, we were physical and I think at the end you could see one team was playing for their lives and one team was hoping the clock would run out. Now, that's not the OU that's going to go to the Big 12 Tournament, but our girls deserve so much credit for playing so incredibly hard on a night where we absolutely had to have it."

Tech came into the night in ninth place in the conference standings, but a win would guarantee their spot in the Big 12 Championship. It took 104 minutes, but they got the win they needed to extend their season.

The first shot of the match didn't come until 17 minutes into the match, coming from sophomore defender Margaret Begley after two Red Raider corners in the first 10 minutes. Her shot opened up the offense on both sides, as Tech would add three more in the half for four, compared to Oklahoma's five.

The Red Raiders doubled the output from the first half in the second frame, connecting on eight, opposite four from OU. Tech earned five corners in the second half and one in the second overtime, giving them nine for the match. OU's only corner kick opportunities came in the first half of play.

Two of Tech's second half shots required saves from OU's goalkeeper Kassidie Stade, who finished the night with three. Senior Red Raider keeper Lauren Watson picked up two saves, increasing her season total to 77. It was also the sixth time this season she's posted a shutout.

Watson's biggest save of the night came with mere seconds left on the clock in the second half, as Oklahoma made a quick pass after a foul from the top of the box and found Rachel Ressler one-on-one on the right side of the box. Her shot was met by the hands of Watson, who corralled the shot to send the match to overtime.

After a scoreless first overtime period, the Red Raiders struck gold in the second set, as midfielder Mary Heiberger kicked it over to King, who sent a strike to the bottom of the crossbar and into the net for goal in the 104^th minute.

It was the fourth-straight match between the two programs that needed overtime to resolve, as Tech improved its overall record over Oklahoma to 11-7-2.

"The best defensive performances we had were tonight and against West Virginia," Stone said. "We're certainly very familiar, we have a lot of respect for them. We know how talented they are, but we played well against them. We're going to start worrying about them tomorrow, but for now, we're just going to enjoy getting into the Big 12 Tournament, having a huge win over a top-five RPI team, watch our RPI go up and see what playing the No. 1 team in the country does for us."

Up next for the Red Raiders is a date with No. 1 West Virginia on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 11:30 a.m. at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City.

The goal that punched #TexasTech's ticket to the #Big12SOC Championship! #WreckEm https://t.co/FiwgWWnamR
— Texas Tech Soccer (@TexasTechSoccer) October 29, 2016