OOLOGAH — When the clock is winding down and a win is already in the bag, many players might take their foot off the gas. Allie Charloe isn't most players.
With just eight seconds left in Friday night's Class 3A state quarterfinal, the Oologah junior forward intercepted a pass in the box, wound up, and blasted a right-footed shot from 10 yards out over the goalkeeper. The goal put an exclamation point on the Lady Mustangs' commanding 5-0 victory over McLoud — and it was her second of the night.
"They were mouthing the whole time — 'You're only up 2, you're only up 2,'" Charloe said. "I think that just really made us want to score and got us all mad."
That fire was evident from the opening whistle. Oologah dominated every facet of the game, outshooting the Lady Redskins 37-2. They had two additional goals wiped away by offside calls and forced McLoud's goalkeeper into 14 saves. The win sends Oologah to the state semifinals for the third straight season.
What makes the performance even more impressive? The Lady Mustangs (15-1) did it without one of their key playmakers.
Star midfielder Brynlee Sweet was sidelined after receiving a red card in the first-round win over Locust Grove. Sweet normally handles corner kicks, so head coach Sam Bowers had to get creative.
"We run set pieces on corners," Bowers said. "We just try to mix it up. I think that's the old football coach in me — you run plays. We spend a lot of time on them, and I've always done that. We have shoe, we have knee, we have waist, we have head and we just make the signal, and then they run them."
The adjustments paid off. Despite some shaky early attempts, Oologah scored twice off corner kicks. The breakthrough came midway through the first half when Avery Duff delivered a corner to Avlynn Hill, who finished into the net with 29:17 left for a 1-0 lead.
Charloe nearly doubled the advantage later in the half with a bending shot from 15 yards, but the McLoud keeper made a diving save. Millie Smalygo then rattled the crossbar, and Trynity McElhenny fired straight at the goalkeeper after a strong setup from Charloe.
McLoud's best chance of the half came in the final minute, but Emily Valdez missed wide right from inside the box.
The Lady Mustangs kept the pressure on after halftime. With 34:17 remaining, Charloe danced through three defenders before slipping a perfect ground-ball cross to Rylen Walters, who finished at the back post to make it 2-0.
Oologah appeared to score again at the 13:28 mark when Lyla Thomason delivered a ball to Hill for a header into the net, but the goal was waved off for offside. No matter — the Lady Mustangs kept rolling, proving that even without their star, they have the depth and determination to make a deep playoff run.