GIRLS SOCCER: ‘Flatter back’ pays off as Oologah storms into another state-title game

Oologah continued creating chances throughout the half.

Charloe narrowly missed inside a crowded box moments later, and Walters pushed a one-on-one opportunity just wide left at the 30:15 mark.

However, the decisive sequence came late in the half.

With 4:02 remaining before halftime, Walters sent a perfect right-side cross into the box, where Charloe beat the goalkeeper to the ball and buried it into the net to make it 2-0.

Just over a minute later, the same combination struck again.

After a throw-in from Barron started the sequence, Walters again delivered a dangerous cross from the right side. Charloe fought through tight marking and redirected the ball with a single touch into the bottom-left corner for a commanding 3-0 lead.

“We saw the more pressure put on them, the more mistakes they made,” Charloe said. “Coach Bowers, when we were scouting them, he was like, ‘They're not much of a skilled soccer team. They're very athletic, they're very quick and they're very physical.’ He said the first team to come out in the first 10 minutes will dominate. I think we did that.”

The Lady Rams struggled to generate much offensively in the opening half, with its best chance coming on a long free kick from Caroline McKinney that sailed over the crossbar.

Regent Prep adjusted after halftime, though.

The Lady Rams took advantage of a more complacent Oologah side in the second half and began generating quality chances while controlling possession more effectively.

That pressure paid off when McKinney blasted a 32-yard free kick from the far left side into the far-right corner of the goal with 36:34 remaining to trim the deficit to 3-1.

However, Oologah raised its urgency before any real momentum shift could develop.

Sweet forced a save on a deep shot midway through the second half, while headers from Madison Penner and Avlynn Hill narrowly missed off additional Sweet corner kicks.

Then, on a left-side corner kick from Brynlee Sweet, Regent Prep defender Abigail Wheeler accidentally headed the ball into her own net while battling Charloe for position, extending the lead back to 4-1.

At first glance, it appeared Charloe may have completed a hat trick, but the junior confirmed afterward she never touched the ball.

“Their girl hit it in,” Charloe said. “She dove in front of me and hit it with her face. That corner was all Brynlee.”

The Lady Mustangs finished with a 17-11 edge in shots, while goalkeeper Sam Sappington recorded 3 saves.

Now Oologah stands one win away from another gold ball, and this time, the title game will practically be in its backyard.

“I'm pumped,” Charloe said. “I'm so excited. It's very rare to get to go to the state championship at all, much less twice in your high school career. So yeah, so excited. I'm excited for the girls. I feel like after Layney Molini [now playing at Texas Tech] left, people expected nothing of us and didn't expect us to win district. So proving all those people wrong, it means a lot.”

Walters echoed that sentiment.

“We’re going to state,” she said.