North Texas Daily

Matt Brune 

Following a 4-0 win over the University of the Incarnate Word in their season opener, the Mean Green soccer team grinded out a tough 1-0 win over Oral Roberts University on Sunday afternoon.

The first half was a stalemate as neither team was able to get much going offensively. Both North Texas (2-0) and Oral Roberts (1-1) entered intermission with only three shots on goal. The surge of pressure and eventual game-winning goal came in the second half, a header scored by senior midfielder Anna Flobeck in the 75th minute.

After the game, Flobeck explained what she believed to be the difference in the match.

“Honestly, I think it was John [Hedlund’s] halftime speech, telling us we need to use the width of the field and take advantage of all the space that we have,” Flobeck said. “We put a lot of pressure and a lot more work and I think we just had that motivation to win. We weren’t going to let this team take that from us.”

Despite 27 fouls called during the game, assistant coach Daniel Dobson said it was nothing more than two hard-nosed teams duking it out.

“It was just a physical match,” Dobson said. “It wasn’t dirty or anything.”

For the second time in as many games, North Texas’ defense kept a clean sheet and held its opponent off the board.

“Our goal every game is to get a shutout,” Dobson said. “We stress that every game”

With numerous experienced forwards and midfielders, the Mean Green opted for a 4-3-3 formation which allowed the to create plays in space.

“[This formation] creates a lot of switching of the field,” Flobeck said. [It’s about] finding that open space and taking advantage of it.”

And although the Mean Green’s fifth consecutive 2-0 start to the season is promising, Dobson still sees some corrections that can be aided with practice and more in-game reps.

“We can clean up our possession a little bit, keep the ball a little bit more so we don’t weigh ourselves down,” Dobson said. “Just getting used to the team chemistry each week at practice is getting better. Each game is getting better. We’re just trying to build on that.”

Next up: The Mean Green play host to Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.