It’s not often that a Big 12 school makes its

way to the town of Monroe, so this match

was a wake-up call to anyone discounting

ULM soccer.

The Warhawks hosted the Oklahoma

Sooners in an intense match ending in a 2-2

tie.

With mere seconds left to play, a costly foul

gave Oklahoma a free kick in prime scoring

position. After a missed header, the score

was tied for the second and final time.

The result—ULM held their own against

their Power 5 opponent.

“We were all really excited to be able to play

a Power 5 school,” junior Santana Pressley

said. “the practices leading up to the game

were filled with high energy. We were

determined to perform the best we could.”

The first minute of play saw Mara Grutkamp

make a beautiful shot that gave the Sooners a

warm welcome to Monroe.

“The first half[…]we had more chances to

play,” Grutkamp said. “We played more of

our game. Then the second half, they put

more pressure on us. We had to play long

sometimes and couldn’t really continue our

game, but pressure-wise, defensively, we did

a good job.”

The Warhawks continued to rule the pitch

and shut out Oklahoma for the remainder of

the first half.

Even after being fueled by the momentum

of the first half, a Sooner goal in the middle

of the second half made it anyone’s game.

Oklahoma started to press with greater

ferocity, and a once aggressive Warhawk

offense played a more wait-and-counter

approach.

With 20 minutes left in the heart-racing

contest, Madi Garza helped put ULM back

in the lead with a monster goal into the top-right

corner.

With the pressure building, every penalty

became increasingly heavy, and the words

“one minute remaining” were as hopeful as

they were terrifying.

But first, a ULM foul was called, and the

subsequent Sooner kick struck the back of

the net.

Almost instantaneously after the kickoff

following the goal, the match ended. While a

tie isn’t a victory, it also isn’t a loss.

Focusing on one minute of play means

neglecting 89 full minutes of match

dominated by the Warhawks.

ULM has another chance to stun a Power 5

opponent this weekend when they take a trip

to College Station, Texas to face Texas A&M.

“We are all so pumped about playing

A&M,” Pressley said. “Taking on big name

schools is something that we all look forward

to. I believe we will be able to play more

comfortable against A&M.”

This contest is the conclusion to the spring

schedule and sole contest outside of Brown

Stadium. The Aggies are undefeated with a

record of 5-0-0 while ULM is 3-0-2.