Oklahoma soccer's regular-season home finale Friday puts SEC Tournament seeding on the line.
The Sooners host No. 23 Arkansas at John Crain Field on Friday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. CDT for Senior Night, according to OU athletics. Seven seniors will be honored before the match: Paige Califf, Sophie Morrin, Kiki Smith, Kendall Campbell, Sadie Sterbenz, Claire Curran and Mojisola Ayodele.
The stakes are straightforward. Oklahoma and Arkansas are tied at 15 points in the SEC standings, and are tied for fourth place. The top four teams earn a first-round bye in the conference tournament. A win would also guarantee OU a winning conference record for the first time since 2016, the program's last NCAA Tournament appearance.
OU clinched its SEC Tournament berth with a 6-1 win at Ole Miss on Oct. 18, a result that set a program record for goals scored in a conference match. Junior forward Kayla Keefer posted her fourth hat trick of the season in that game. Narissa Fults scored twice and Elle Canty added a goal.
Keefer has been the story of the Sooners' season. The Bloomsburg, Pa., native leads the nation with 19 goals and 41 points, both OU single-season records. She broke Whitney Palmer's marks of 15 goals and 32 points, set in 2009, during an Oct. 15 match at Mississippi State.
Her four hat tricks this season tie her with former Florida and U.S. Women's National Team star Abby Wambach for the most by an SEC player in a single season, according to OU athletics. Keefer was named to the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List as one of 30 players nationally. She also earned Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week, SEC Offensive Player of the Week and Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches (IWSOC) National Player of the Week honors. She is the first Sooner to earn a national player of the week award since Renae Cuellar in October 2012, according to OU athletics.
Arkansas enters the match ranked No. 23 in the IWSOC poll after winning the 2025 SEC regular-season championship. The Razorbacks are 6-4-4 overall and 4-1-3 in conference play. They beat Florida 2-1 on Oct. 18 on a goal from freshman MacKenzie Gwin with six seconds remaining. Gwin was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the performance. Arkansas is 1-1-1 in SEC road games this season.
The Sooners lead the all-time series 8-4, including 3-2 in Norman. The teams last met at John Crain Field on Oct. 13, 2024, when Arkansas won 1-0.
Oklahoma Soccer promoted the game on X, highlighting $2 concessions, a corgi race at halftime and photo opportunities with the Sooner Schooner. OU closes the regular season Nov. 1 at Tennessee.
