UNT Loses 1-0 To Oklahoma In Season Opener

Coach Andy Mac · August 16

DENTON – The UNT women’s soccer team lost 1-0 to Oklahoma in the 2024 season opener on Thursday in front of a record crowd of 1,216 fans.

The Mean Green (0-1) conceded the difference-maker goal in the 29th minute when an errant pass on the North Texas defensive backline gave the Sooners’ Morganne Elkelbarner an uncontested shot at goal that she didn’t miss.

OU (1-0) pressed and limited UNT’s Summer Brown and Bailey Wesco’s opportunities. The two forwards each played more than 50 minutes and had no shot attempts.

“Credit to Oklahoma,” said head coach John Hedlund. “They have speed and quickness and they took advantage of our mistake. I thought we did regroup well after that and didn’t give up too many opportunities, but we just could not get our offense going.”

UNT finished the match putting four shots on goal to OU’s three and had a free kick opportunity just outside the 18-yard box in the 83rd minute but could not convert.

The 1,216-attendance mark set on Thursday is the largest ever at the Mean Green Soccer Stadium, which opened up in 2019. Thursday’s attendance blew away the previous record of 859 that was set during the grand opening of the facility. All-time 1,216 ranks third in the program’s history.

Next up for North Texas is another home match as they host No. 20 Alabama on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.

For more information on UNT Soccer tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Travis · August 16

😒

bstnsportsfan3 · August 16

i was there. almost got heat stroke it felt like it was so hot. who decided to build the stand facing the sun? also our offense was terrible

NT80 · August 16

5 minutes ago, bstnsportsfan3 said:

i was there. almost got heat stroke it felt like it was so hot. who decided to build the stand facing the sun? also our offense was terrible

I watched on ESPN+. Our passing was not good. OU seemed more disciplined on the field with positioning. OU beat #6 Nebraska also 1-0 last week in an exhibition, so comparably we did well. Perhaps we will learn from this and do better against Bama.

Ross Hodgeson · August 16

So I have been following them for awhile. You need to understand, this is the system that Hedlund has always employed. Think of it like a 4 corners basketball Mo Iba strategy back before they had the shot clock. He uses it because teams like OU have better talent and it equalizes things on the field. When it works it is good. It can be boring though.

UNTLifer · August 16

Watching the game, I never felt like OU had better talent.

Travis · August 19

On 8/16/2024 at 10:04 AM, Ross Hodgeson said:

So I have been following them for awhile. You need to understand, this is the system that Hedlund has always employed. Think of it like a 4 corners basketball Mo Iba strategy back before they had the shot clock. He uses it because teams like OU have better talent and it equalizes things on the field. When it works it is good. It can be boring though.

It is bad sloppy soccer. It will never work in a big pressure games like the NCAA Tournament. And to date, Hedlund's teams always always always perform poorly in those games... even against some teams that were much more winnable.

It is also the easiest to defend.

2 games in and we have yet to score a goal in the field of play.

On the bright side, we at least put 7 shots on frame against Alabama. Which is a slight improvement to the 4 from the previous game.

NT80 · August 19

41 minutes ago, Travis said:

2 games in and we have yet to score a goal in the field of play.

I think we scored one since Bama won 2-1. But otherwise yes, very sloppy looking on the parts I watched. Again Bama was spread out and passing between positions. We looked more like randomly kicking it away from our end, not actually to anyone on our team.

Travis · August 19

13 minutes ago, NT80 said:

I think we scored one since Bama won 2-1. But otherwise yes, very sloppy looking on the parts I watched. Again Bama was spread out and passing between positions. We looked more like randomly kicking it away from our end, not actually to anyone on our team.

That was off a set piece. Not field of play goal.

But you are right... the not building from the back, long-ball, direct style approach is poor soccer. It is like throwing hail mary's all the time. it can work, but it really doesn't.

Edited August 19 by Travis