Oklahoma Sooner Soccer: Match on Sunday w 4 of 5 Matches @ Home!

[OUBeliever56A]

The new look Oklahoma Sooner Soccer Team will take the pitch on Sunday at 7 PM against Baylor at home against Baylor in an exhibition match.

Four of their first five matches are here at John Crain Field. They will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for a second exhibition match on Friday, the 11th, for a 7 PM match.

The regular season starts with three straight matches beginning on Aug 17th with a match against Tulsa at 7 PM, then Oral Roberts at 7 PM on the 20th and then Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the 24th at 7 PM.

We should have a decent picture of the team by then before the Sooners go on the road for 3 matches before returning home for their final match at home before the Big 12 Schedule starts.

Coach Mott was on the radio today talking about the team. He mentioned four players. Emma Hawkins, Forward; Dani Wolfe, Forward transfer from Michigan, Andie Wolfe, Defense transfer from Michigan State and Callie England, Midfield. He also said that there are 3 goalkeepers that are working hard to become the starter.

Coach Mott described the Sooner style as an agressive, pressing, tight-playing defensive team who can score goals. He said that the Sooners would play with good pace and that they have speed on the pitch.

There are 26 players on the team with 11 new players if my count is correct. It will be a new look team.

Here is the roster for the 2023 Sooner Women's Soccer Team:

https://soonersports.com/sports/soccer/roster

I think I will be able to be at the match. I hope the Sooners have a good crowd for Coach Mott's first game. There is no information about the game being televised at this point.

Boomer Sooner!

[OUBeliever56A]

I attended the first exhibition match for the 2023 OU Soccer Team and the first view of the new look Sooners under Coach Mott. The crowd was decent considering the lack of promotion by the team and OU. The final result was a score of Baylor 3 - OU 2. I had forgotten that Baylor was 4-12-1 in 2022 and finished the season 2-8 in theri last 10 games. In a schedule oddity, OU does not play Baylor this season in Big 12 play. The Sooners play 10 games against the 13 other Big 12 teams as they do not play Baylor, TCU and Iowa State.

First off, I am in no way an expert about soccer. I am a casual fan with some knowledge though.

The team is very different. Of the 26 roster players, 14 by my count are returning Sooners. There are 12 new Sooners. The starters were a mixture of the two groups.

GK - Ramey #0 (SO) returning starter
Defenders - England #8 (SR) returning starter, A. Wolfe #19 (JR) xfer from Mich State, Commandant#3 (JR) xfer from Syracuse,
Midfielders - Kroflin #22 (SO) returning starter, Stevens #4 (FR) new player, Parkhurst #6 (FR) new player
Forwards - Hawkins #2 (5th SR) returning starter, D. Wolfe #16 (Red-SR) xfer from Michigan, Weber #31 (JR) returning starter, Washington #12 (SO) returning starter

The formation is very different. In 2022 there were [Edited] 4 defenders, 2 mids and 4 forwards. The 2 outside defenders were used to help push the ball forward with the mids to the forwards. From what I could tell last night, there are 3 primary defenders. The three mids and 2 of the forwards roam the middle of the field. One of the mids stay in the center of the pitch with the two outside mids pushing forward and they work back to be a five person line on defense. The two outside mids were Kroflin and Stevens. The primary forwards last night were Hawkins and D Wolfe. Washington and Weber were more of mids than forwards. I hope that was understandable. England is switching from the mids to the defenders it looks like in 2023.

Of the 26 players on the roster all but two played last night. I did not see the freshman GK, Hall #00 or the Mid xfer from Tyler JuCo JR Galekhutle #10 play. I didn't even see Galekhutle suited up. She is from Botswana, so she may have Visa or travel issues.

My overall impression is that the team is not as quick or as fast as the 2022 team. The team alignment can have a problem on the outside of the defensive end. The two outside mids have to work back quickly to fill the outside on defense. When the ball moves dowfield quickly towards OU's goal, the 3 primary defenders have to work out while the two mids worked back and there was a bit of a hole inside due to that. Two of the Baylor goals were from passes into the box from that area. The other Baylor goal was from the middle of the offense on a long shot that got over the head of the Sooner GK. None of the Sooner GK are tall.

The middle of the pitch on the defensive end may have a hole also as the mids are moving quite a lot as play develops.

Of the starters I would say they all played pretty well. In the third 'half', Commandant did suffer a leg injury and had to be helped off the pitch. That is something to be watched.

The substitutes were:

GK - Giorgio #1 (Red-SO) xfer from Syracuse
Defenders - Clifton #23 (SO) returning player, Baltmanis #40 (SO) returning player, Adams #17 (FR) new player
Mids - Pak #7 (SO) returning player, Brown #14 (Red-SO) returning player, Matise #9 (JR) xfer from Arkansas, Vaughan #11 (FR) new player, Hoefer #18 (FR) new player
Forwards - Murrell #5 (FR) returning player, Eikelbarner #24 (SO) returning player, Wagner #20 (SO) returning player, Pappas #15 (SO) returning player,

I thought most of the starters played well, but communication between new players were an issue in the midfield area and on defense. England stood out on defense and I think that A. Wolfe will be key on defense for the Sooners. Kroflin always plays steady and makes very few mistakes. I think Hawkins and Washington played well on the forward end. Weber does a good job of passing the ball into the box from the outside. Of the subs, I thought Clifton, Pak, Matise Murrell, Wagner played well. Eikelbarner and Pappas always work hard at the ball also.

The two OU goals were scored by Hawkins and Pak. Hawkins's goal was a hustle play on a loose ball that came from traffic in front of the goal on a pass into the box. Pak's goal was from the middle outside the box on a ball that was not fully cleared.

My concerns were that the team does not have great speed especially among the defenders. I think that is why England has been moved from midfield to defense. Only England and Clifton are fast on defense. The mids did not pass the ball very well in their first game. But they are all new and finding their way with each other and the offense sets. I was surprised at the lack of speed from a few players that I thought were faster last season. Maybe their legs are tired and they have not gotten fully in shape yet for 2023.

I think there is good depth among the forwards, maybe some of that depth can transition to the mids and/or the defense with a mid or two moving back to defense also.

Their next action is in Lincoln, NE on Friday the 11th of August at 7 PM. I do not know how to possibly watch this match. From the Nebraska Soccer Schedule website it looks like you can watch stats and maybe the Big10 Network to see the game if you wish.

Boomer Sooner!