Cowgirl Soccer Top 20 Moments, 1996-2014

The Oklahoma State Cowgirl soccer program will mark its 20^th season in 2015. As we celebrate two decades of milestones, OSU head coach Colin Carmichael and assistant coach Karen Hancock, who each have been with the program since its inception and served stints as head coaches to help build the program into a national power, collaborated on a list of the top 20 moments in Cowgirl soccer history. This week, we'll reveal the five remaining moments on their list (which is in no particular order) on www.okstate.com.

Winning the first Big 12 Conference regular season championship in program history in 2008 with a 4-2 win at Oklahoma in regular season finale

Halloween night in 2008 unfolded as a dream scenario in Norman for Oklahoma State soccer.

The Cowgirls squared off against Bedlam-rival Oklahoma in the regular season finale with high stakes — a win would give OSU its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship.

OSU proved up to the task as the No. 8 Cowgirls brought home the trophy with a 4-2 victory, finishing conference play with a 7-1-2 mark (16-1-2 overall).

Said OSU senior defender Jessica Jarrell, "It's beyond exciting. We've worked so hard for four years to get to this point. To be a senior leader on the first OSU team to ever win a championship is amazing. My first year, I watched teams like Texas and Texas A&M and Colorado play beautiful soccer, and we weren't to that level yet. I didn't know if we'd ever get to that level, but we really made it. We're here!"

The match was back-and-forth in the opening half, with OU taking the game's early lead before a Kyndall Treadwell equalizer in the 25^th minute. The Cowgirls then took a brief 2-1 lead on a penalty kick by Annika Niemeier before the Sooners tied things up just before intermission.

The second half would be all OSU, however, as the Cowgirls were not to be denied a title. Yolanda Odenyo, who was nursing an injury, came off the bench and sparked the team.

Just over five minutes into the half, the Cowgirls took the lead for good when Kasey Langdon delivered a pass to Siera Strawser, who put OSU up 3-2 with her 10^th goal of the season.

OSU doubled its lead in the 59^th minute when Melinda Mercado scored after a scramble for a loose ball in the box.

Colin Carmichael: "Whenever you achieve something and it's at the expense of your biggest rival, it always makes it a little bit sweeter. Going down to the hostile environment at OU with most of the fans rooting against you wasn't easy. It was 2-2 at halftime, and we hadn't played very well in the first half. For us to be able to have the maturity and the composure to find a way to win that game and win the Big 12 was great.

"I remember Yolanda (Odenyo) sat out the first half — her back was bothering her and we weren't really sure what she could or couldn't do — and we put her in in the second half and she kind of slowed everything down a little bit for us and composed everybody.

"Getting the trophy and celebrating in the OU locker room was pretty nice."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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