(September 24, 2025) Midwest City, Oklahoma - After a shutout win at home on Sunday against Redlands, the ladies hit the road for a very important region match against Rose State College. The Bucks have never beaten Rose State in women's soccer and were looking to do so. Rose State is a traditional top team in NJCAA Region 2 and was preseason ranked #18 in the NJCAA DI Women's Soccer Poll.
The Bucks started off the match with a pair of early chances in the first 10 minutes of the match. However, Rose State gained possession and created several opportunities from corner and free kicks. Goalkeeper Ramzee Matejka (Jacksonville, TX) and the defense did a great job of defending the high shots and kept the Raiders out of the goal.
The match was back and forth in the first half with Rose State dominating the possession, but the Bucks were good in transition of creating counter attacks. The match was stalemated at 0-0 at the half.
The second half started much like the first half with Rose State pinning the Bucks back in their own half of the field, but a moment of space and speed led a goal for the Bucks. The ball was sprayed out to Maya Lane (Southend-on-Sea, England) who dribbled forward and found Solange Depirou (St. Albans, England) just outside the 18-yard box. She would drive the left footed shot home for a 1-0 lead.
The lead was short lived as Rose State scored a goal. A shot hit the crossbar and was rebounded for a goal to make it 1-1. Momentum looked to shift back to the Bucks as the ladies earned a penalty kick off a hand ball, but Depirou's shot was saved by the keeper to keep the match at 1-1.
In hopes that the missed PK didn't kill UARM's momentum, Caitlyn Turner (Napier Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) nailed a 35-yard free kick to give the Bucks the 2-1 lead. After the goal, the final minutes of the match was spent fighting off the Rose State attack. The defense stood tall to defend the lead and secured a road, region win.
With the win, the Bucks are now 7-0-1 with a 4-0-1 region record. The ladies play again on Sunday, September 28th, at home against NOC-Enid. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm at Tapley Park.
#DefendTheMountain