SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 20, 2012) – Leia Kirch scored a pair of unassisted goals to lead St. Mary's (Texas) past Oklahoma Christian 2-0 on Thursday afternoon at Northside Independent School District field.
OC (1-3) dropped its third straight game, all by shutout. St. Mary's (4-3) outshot the Lady Eagles 15-1 and kept pressure on OC throughout most of the contest.
"We are struggling with learning the lesson that details matter," OC coach Randall Robison said. "We've shown that we can possess the ball. Now we have to value it and find a purpose from that possession. We can play good one- and two-touch soccer as a team, then an individual mistake instantly changes things.
"Details matter and we are struggling with realizing that."
Kirch scored on a 23-yard free kick in the 10th minute, placing the ball in the upper corner of the goal, out of the reach of OC's starting goalkeeper, Lindsey Williams.
For the second straight game, Anna Walker replaced Williams in goal to start the second half. Kirch greeted Walker in the 51st minute by lobbing a shot from about 20 yards out over Walker and high into the goal, putting the Rattlers up 2-0.
OC's only shot came in the 41st minute, by Laura Welch, and St. Mary's goalkeeper Alyssa Taramona made the save.
Walker had five saves for OC, while Williams wasn't credited with a save in the first half.
The result against St. Mary's counts toward the overall record for both teams, but does not count in the Heartland Conference standings, as OC is in the first year of the NCAA Division II membership process.
The Lady Eagles will visit Texas A&M International on Saturday before returning home to host nonconference foe Southwestern Christian in their home opener on Tuesday night.
