OOLOGAH — Eva Penner was the epitome of “give and you will receive.”
The senior captain felt like giving a gift Friday night, recording two assists as Oologah built a comfortable lead. And, as her famous quote promises, her generosity was rewarded.
Penner took a cross from Callie Hogue on the right side of the penalty box and fired a shot past the goalie and into the net with 14 minutes, 15 seconds left as the Lady Mustangs cruised to a 6-0 victory over perennial powerhouse Clinton. It capped off her full round moment. Class 4A state quarterfinals.
As a captain, Penner puts aside his personal accomplishments to improve the performance of his teammates.
“I love giving back to the team,” Penner said. “I love setting up my teammates. Of course it's a great feeling to score goals myself, but I love setting up my teammates even more. It's great for young players coming up, especially in the playoffs. It really helps set an example. It's a different level of competition and you have to give your all, so it's nice to be able to put the stats on the board to prove it.”
Penner's first demonstration of dedication came at the 21:49 mark of the first half, when he gave a well-placed corner kick to his sister, freshman Madison Penner, who perfectly headed the ball into the net. , increasing Oologah's lead to 2-0.
She got back on track in the second half when the Lady Mustangs won a free kick just outside the left edge of the box.
The goalie reacted quickly to stop Eva Penner's shot, but the tip of the shot went straight to the waiting Hogue, who easily tapped it into the far post with 36 minutes, 17 seconds left.
“She really stepped up this year heading into her junior season,” Eva Penner said of Hogue. “She has a great game. It's so fun to be able to connect with her.”
Eva Penner's contribution was just one of the highlights of many games for Oologa (15-2).
Texas Tech's Lainey Morini put the Lady Mustangs on the field right away, executing a spin move after receiving an Avelyn Hill throw-in and firing a powerful shot past the goalie just two minutes into the game. .
“I'm the type of person who likes to wake up early to calm down,” Morini said. “I think the beginning of the game is the most difficult part (being nervous). I like to hit with a little bit of spin on my throw-ins and that's exactly what I did. I feel like we started gaining momentum, so I’m just grateful to have gotten that.”
Morini had another chance to score just before halftime, easily breaking through the defense and attacking the goal from the left, but her shot was deflected by a Lady Reds defender. However, the ball found its way into the hands of Allie Charlow, who fired it past the goalie 17 seconds before the halftime buzzer, giving Oologah a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
Kylie Seaba scored twice at 17:00 and 12:30 in the first half, and Tatum Reynolds and Brynley Sweet had one goal at 24:00 and 7:13, respectively, but were unable to convert. opportunity.
Morini continued his aggressive attack against Clinton in the second half, making three saves at 34:30, 21:40 and 19:10, the last on a straight drive shot from 25 yards or more. He scored his second goal. Outside.
“She's the best attacker I've ever coached,” Lady Mustangs coach Sam Bowers said. “I don't care about the level. I've coached 6A for 24 years. I think she's scored 40 or 41 goals now, and I don't think she'll have 41 goals in 6A, but I'll tell you one thing. But she's going to be a starter on any 6A team. It helps when you have that last hammer. I've had some coaching friends here and they're like, 'Oh my god,' and 'That's crap.' And I said, 'She always said she could play.'
The big win against the Lady Reds was a bit of a surprise for Bowers.
Clinton (13-4) has had the most consistent record in the state over the past decade, outscoring his opponent 58-7 in the quarterfinals against Oologah. However, the Lady Mustangs dominated the ball for most of the game, limiting their offense to just five shots on goal.
“I thought they could do some things, but they're very athletic,” Bowers said. “I was a little worried because they're a physical team and we weren't very big and had a lot of young kids. We had to stop them like three times in warm-ups, so (we) I kept preaching to them, “You're better than that,'' because you could see they were nervous. I need to relax. ” Then we scored an early goal, but I think we all relaxed after that.
“It made a lot of people say, 'Yeah, it's supposed to be a game, but we have a chance to win.'” I think this score might shock them a little bit. ”
Oologah College advanced to the state semifinals. Bowers said the play hadn't been seen on the program since 1995. Their opponent is Oklahoma Christian School (Edmond), which has reached the semifinals for the fourth straight season.
The Lady Saints are 9-3 this season, including a 3-1 win over Victory Christian, but also lost 1-0 to Clinton on April 4th.
Despite the unfavorable comparisons to a common opponent, the Lady Mustangs have no intention of underestimating OCS, which will be played Tuesday at 6 p.m.
“Our mantra is 'do not disturb,'” Bowers said. “They're getting the attention they deserve right now. They had a pep rally for them this morning, and I'm like, 'Don't get distracted, don't get distracted.' He places them on the board one at a time. We have a big ceremony in the locker room, and if we defeat (our opponent), we cross out the mark and play the next game. It doesn't matter who you play – you'll play someone good. Luckily, we're at home, so we don't have to travel yet.
“We have to keep them grounded.”
