MSU woes continue in 2-0 loss to SWOSU

by Trey Reed

September 9, 2012

EDMOND, Okla. - Midwestern State was pretty much level with unbeaten Southwestern Oklahoma throughout the finale of the Fischer Classic at Tom Thompson Field.

But the Bulldogs were able to find the net twice in the second half to come away with a 2-0 win over the reeling Mustangs, who fell to 0-4 for the first time in program history.

"We played really well," MSU coach Jeff Trimble said. "It came down to where we had two point-blank chances and we didn't convert them. They had one good chance and converted it."

Freshman Ashley Cottrell had the first of the opportunities when she took a pass off of the end line in the 41st minute of the first half.

"She trapped it and turned on the girl and it just went wide." Trimble said.

Southwestern Oklahoma drew first blood on freshman Cori Kelly's first collegiate goal in the 65th minute before Midwestern had another golden opportunity to notch the equalizer in the 68th minute.

Senior midfielder Maddie Fraser struck a beautiful ball to the far post but junior forward Mickey Brown's header faded wide.

"They sat in and let us come at them," Trimble said. "I felt like we really controlled game."

The Mustangs outshot SWOSU by a 10-9 margin and took five corner kicks to four for the Bulldogs.

Southwestern Oklahoma put the game away with the help of what Trimble described as an own goal off of misclear in the 86th minute. It was, however, credited as Miranda Belaezentis' second tally of the season.

"They crossed it on a counter attack and we tried to clear it and it went into our goal," Trimble said.

The Mustangs continue to struggle with injuries as two more joined the M*A*S*H squad leaving with injuries during the match.

"We're not a complete team right now," Trimble said clearly shaking away any injury excuses. "It's very hard to find consistency when you have to shuffle players in and out of the lineup. We have players having to play three positions in a game but we're just doing that out of necessity."

Midwestern kicks of Lone Star Conference play with a pair of road matches at Angelo State and Incarnate Word on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Trimble said.