(September 28, 2025) Mena, Arkansas - After a great win on Wednesday at Rose State, the ladies returned home on Sunday against NOC-Enid. The Bucks are in the middle of their season, playing the North Division schools of NJCAA Region 2. After completing these games at the end of next week, the Bucks will play their South Division opponents again. 

 

This was a game for the purists as you had two teams playing a totally different style of play, locking horns, and competing to the end. UARM had the majority of possession with their passing style, and Enid remained compact in defense looking to counter attack quickly whenever the ball was turned over. Despite having a lot of the ball, UARM struggled to breakdown the organized defense of Enid and goal scoring opportunities were a rarity as the ball wouldn't drop to a Bucks striker when on another day it would.  

 

Enid fought for every ball, and they bodied up everytime a Bucks player had possession in open play which lead to a scrappy type of game. It seemed inevitable the game would end in a 0-0 tie until the last 10 seconds of the game. The ball spilled out in midfield, and Caitlyn Turner (Napier Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) quickly bent the ball forward behind the Enid defenders and perfectly into the path of the running Solange Depirou (St. Albans, England). With the clock running down to only 8 seconds to go, Depirou saw a gap on the right side of the goal, and her one time shot curled high into the net for an incredible ending to the game. The Bucks would get the 1-0 region win to move to 8-0-1 overall on the season. More importantly, the ladies are 5-0-1 in region play.

 

Coach Kevin Sherry was very impressed with a scrappy NOC women's team, but he was extremly pleased with his back line and defense. "I am obviously happy for my team, but I have to say how impressed I was with Enid. They fought so hard, ran for every ball, and made life so difficult for us. Our win today was built upon a strong foundation of defense today. From Marcele Luiza Saravia (Florianopolis, Brazil) in goal to the whole back line of Manuela Barbosa de Souza (Garca Sao Paulo, Brazil), Rose Bilyeu (Bonner Springs, KS), Addison Gonzalez (Wylie, TX) and Isabella Osorio (San Angelo, TX), they were key not only to this win today, but to the season in general and must get a special mention. They will never get the stats to draw the eye, but as a coach, I know how important they are to this team. To win a game with 8 seconds to go is special, but I feel for Enid because their performance was inspirational."

 

The ladies will now head to NEO on Wednesday for a region match against the Lady Norse. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm in Miami, OK.