ADA, Okla. — East Central University soccer continued its Great American Conference schedule Saturday afternoon at Tiger Soccer Field, hosting Ouachita Baptist University in a Battle of the Tigers. ECU stayed competitive throughout the opening half, taking a scoreless match into the break before the Purple Tigers pulled away in the second half for a 3-1 victory.
Both teams battled back and forth throughout the opening 45 minutes, with ECU recording six shots and putting three on goal.
Kylee Blair recorded a pair of early shots before
Makaiah Carlson put a shot on goal in the eighth minute that was saved by the Ouachita Baptist goalkeeper. Blair added another attempt, followed by a shot from
Jalynne Campbell that was also saved. Carlson later added another shot that went over the goal, while
Kaylie Gonzalez put another shot on target that was turned away.
Parker Frei came up with three saves and the ECU defense kept the Purple Tigers off the scoreboard as the teams entered halftime tied 0-0.
Ouachita Baptist broke through shortly after the break, scoring in the 49th minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Purple Tigers added another goal less than eight minutes later before extending their advantage to 3-0 in the 63rd minute.
ECU continued to battle and looked for an opportunity to get on the scoreboard late in the match. With just over three minutes remaining,
Makaiah Carlson delivered on a free kick from outside the box, finding the back of the net for her first goal of the season in the 87th minute to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Tigers continued to push in the final minutes but were unable to add another goal.
ECU finished with 12 shots, including seven on goal, while Ouachita Baptist recorded 14 shots with eight on target. The Tigers also earned four corner kicks compared to seven for the Purple Tigers. ECU goalkeeper
Parker Frei recorded five saves in the match.
The Tigers will continue GAC play when they return to action on the road, taking on Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Wednesday, Sep. 23 at 5 pm.
