ARKADELPHIA, ARKANSAS - Northwestern Oklahoma State was on the road Thursday afternoon for the first of two straight in Arkansas. The Rangers started with a match against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia playing the Tigers to a 1-1 draw as both teams scored late in the final 15 minutes.
Northwestern now goes to 2-4-3 overall with a 0-1-2 conference record as Ouachita moves to 2-4-1 on the year with a 1-0-1 conference record.
Rangers came out from the start aggressive, getting a shot on goal in the opening minutes of the match but was saved by the Tigers goalkeeper Carina Chavarria. Rangers were able to get three shots in the first half all on goal but all saved by Chavarria.
Ouachita Baptist countered after the Rangers opening shot but the Ranger defense had a block. Rachel Brown's first save of the match was at the eight minute mark on a shot by Hattie Gardner to the right side of the net.
The Tigers closed the half with seven shots overall putting four on goal as Brown saved all four finishing the half with four saves. Each team had two corner kick opportunities but were unable to capitalize on the chances.
The match was still 0-0 at halftime between the Rangers and Tigers.
The Rangers had two more blocks in the early part of the second half on a couple of Tigers shots. Jazlyn Norwood had two shots go high. Jordan Fawcett kept the pressure on the Tigers with a shot on goal saved by Chavarria.
Northwestern capitalized on a scoring opportunity in the 77th minute of the match after Fawcett had a shot leading to a Ranger goal. The shot was blocked before Chrisiti-Anne Mills gained control leading a pass to Tiara Campbell finding the back of the net for the Rangers first goal of the match.
Ouachita looking to score the equalizer was more aggressive in the final minutes putting three shots on goal all saved by Rachel Brown. In the 89th minute the Tigers had two shots, one blocked by the Ranger defense and a shot wide left.
The Tigers were able to score to tie the match in the final seconds after being given a penalty kick with two seconds remaining as Allison Reece found the back of the net to tie the match 1-1.
The 1-1 score was the final score Thursday afternoon.
The Rangers will be in Searcy, Arkansas on Saturday morning against Harding University to close out the road trip. Saturday's matchup will start at 11:00 AM.
