Published: August 27, 2008 11:40 pm            

Sooner soccer looking to rebound

• Defeat in season opener firing up team



Nicole Nelson was looking for a better start. In her first game as Oklahoma’s soccer coach, Nelson wanted her squad to announce themselves with authority.

But what Nelson got was a 3-1 loss to Colorado College last week in the season opener.

And it was the way the contest started that knocked the Sooners off their game.

“We gave up a goal in the first 45 seconds,” Nelson said. “Which makes everything chaotic. You’re chasing the game then instead of taking over the game from the start. That put us on our heels a little bit.”

That defeat has hung around the players and coaching staff for a week. Now the Sooners get a chance to get the loss of their backs Friday with their first home game of the season when they face Central Michigan (1-0).

Before the season started, Nelson said the Sooners would be more aggressive offensively. But, they only produced two shots on goal in the opener.

However, the coaching staff is not overly concerned with the amount of shots they got against the Tigers. It was the 10 shots they allowed that upset Nelson.

“It was definitely disappointing to have our first game be a loss,” senior Katie Corbitt said. “But I think we are bouncing back and excited to be here at home for Friday.”

Corbitt and her defensive teammates are especially looking to jump back on the field as soon as possible.

“I was disappointed with how we broke down defensively,” Nelson said. “Very fixable mistakes. It was a lot of one (versus) one breakdown. So getting beat on the one versus one, which was affected as much by fatigue and the altitude and the fact that our fitness level is not where it needs to be because it’s early in the season. I would like to see less breakdowns defensively and more organization in that back line.”

But she knows the Sooners have to get their defense in order for them to have any success.

“We are running a new defense, something that is new to them,” Nelson said. “But there is a lot of new information being absorbed right now. They are getting better every day. Colorado College was organized in the final third and were able to break down our back line. That is what our focus is right now, to continue to teach that back line to work as one unit.”

Kickoff against Central Michigan is set for 7 p.m. at John Crain Field. The first 250 fans will receive OU 2008 schedule t-shirts and soccer posters also will be available.

The Sooners would like to see the stands packed for their first home game. But they know that in order to keep the fans coming, they will have to play better that they did in Colorado.

“We just have to work hard and put things together,” Corbitt said. “Put goals in the back of the net, get more shots than we had and keep them out of the net, for sure, as well. Hopefully we will just bring a really exciting game and get a win out of it.”

Michael Kinney

366-3537

mkinney@normantranscript.com

        

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