Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas Tech
Cowgirls Are Big 12 Champions
October 27, 2011 | Cowgirl Soccer
Oct. 27, 2011
STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State claimed its fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference championship and capped the first undefeated regular season in program history with a 2-0 victory over Texas Tech Thursday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.
With the win, the No. 2 Cowgirls finish 6-0-2 in conference play and head to the postseason with a 17-0-2 overall record. OSU becomes only the second Big 12 team, along with the 1996 Nebraska squad, to complete the regular season undefeated, and the Cowgirls are the first team since Texas A&M in 2002 to finish Big 12 play without a loss.
“It was tough,” said OSU coach Colin Carmichael. “To go through the season undefeated you have to show a certain level of consistency, and I think that's been the biggest factor for our team. We play better some nights, but our level of play hasn't dropped significantly — we've always put on a pretty good show.…
“It feels amazing. Fifteen years ago, when Karen (Hancock) and I were doing this, you couldn't have imagined this. A lot of hard work from our staff and our former players, it's been building up to this. And to win four championships is just an amazing accomplishment for our kids.”
The conference championship marks the fifth in program history for OSU. The Cowgirls also won the Big 12 regular season title in 2008 and have claimed the league's postseason tournament title three times (2003, '09, '10).
Thursday's record-setting win didn't come easy. Texas Tech (10-7-2, 3-4-1) outshot the Cowgirls by a 17-15 margin, but OSU got a pair of timely goals and recorded yet another shutout. That shutout also tied a record as it marked OSU's 14th of the season, a total the Cowgirls also reached in 2009.
OSU nearly gave up a goal early on as just 1:29 into the match Taylor Lytle blasted a shot that bounced off the far post.
The game remained scoreless until the 40th minute. OSU won a corner kick, and Taylor Mathews sent the ball towards the box. The ball deflected off the foot of a Red Raider defender and into the net to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead and Mathews her sixth goal of the season.
The Cowgirls nearly added another goal just before intermission, but a shot by Kristen Kelley was saved off the line by a Tech defender to keep the score at 1-0.
OSU added its second goal in the 64th minute on a highlight-reel score by Kyndall Treadwell, who collected a loose ball and ripped a 20-yard shot to the top shelf to put the Cowgirls up by two.
That was more than enough for the Cowgirls as goalie AD Franch and company kept the Red Raiders off the scoreboard. Franch finished with a season-high seven saves to notch her eighth shutout of the season.
The win sent eight Cowgirl seniors out in style in their final regular season home game as that group won its 70th career game.
Said Treadwell of the undefeated season and another Big 12 championship, “It's awesome. “It's a goal we set, and it's a big accomplishment for us.”
Carmichael added that this record-setting senior class will leave an indelible mark on the OSU program.
“You can't really describe what they've done for this program,” Carmichael said. “They're the fourth-winningest class in the NCAA out of 330-something teams. That gives you an idea of the level that they're playing at. I can't speak highly enough of them as players and people. They're great ambassadors for our program and the university.”
