Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
West Virginia
Cowgirls Come Up Short In Big 12 Title Match
November 10, 2013 | Cowgirl Soccer
Nov. 10, 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Oklahoma State's run at the Big 12 Soccer Championship came up just short of a title as the Cowgirls dropped a 1-0 decision to West Virginia in Sunday's tourney finale at Swope Soccer Village.
The sixth-seeded Cowgirls, who were looking for their fourth Big 12 tourney title, fell to 9-6-6 with the loss, while top-seeded West Virginia added a tourney championship to its regular season crown in improving to 16-3-2.
Sunday's match was one of missed opportunities for the Cowgirls. Both teams recorded 20 shots, but OSU put nine chances on frame - more than double that of WVU - and owned a 10-5 advantage on corner kicks.
"It was a great game - if you were neutral watching that game on TV, it was a great advertisement for Big 12 soccer," said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. "West Virginia is a great team, and I'm really proud of how my team played. We created six, seven, eight really good chances to score and on another day, one or two of those go in and things would be different."
OSU's scoring chances came early and often in the opening half. After a great pass ahead by Courtney Dike in the 13th minute, Madison Mercado was taken down in the box, but on the ensuing penalty, she pushed her try wide of the goal.
"(Mercado) got fouled, and she was the only one who went and took the ball - she wanted it," Carmichael said. "We've got three or four kids that can take them, and you look for who wants it. Maddie went straight to the ball... I don't blame Maddie for that - she responded and had a great game."
Less than three minutes later, it was Mercado with another prime opportunity to put the Cowgirls on the scoreboard as she made an impressive move to get past the defense. But this time it was WVU goalie Sara Keane coming up big as she made a leaping save on Mercado's blast from nine-yards out to keep it scoreless.
Keane, who finished the match with nine saves, stopped another chance in the 22nd minute. This time, Mercado sent a pass ahead to Miriam Rhinehart to set up a one-v.-one opportunity, but Keane raced out and made a sliding play to knock the ball away.
OSU kept its attack rolling but continued to fall short of converting. In the 25th minute, Mercado created yet another chance when she found Krissi Killion alone at the top of the six-yard box, but Killion mishit her shot and it sailed over the goal.
The Cowgirls controlled much of the possession in the opening half, but the game went into intermission scoreless. WVU owned a 12-10 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes, but six of OSU's shots were on goal as opposed to three for the Mountaineers. Carmichael's squad also had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
Things continued along the same path early in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Dike got behind two defenders and ripped shot from eight-yards out, but once again Keane came out to make a diving save.
In the 58th minute, it was the Mountaineers with a near miss as a shot by Ashley Lawrence caromed off the near post. Over the next 10 minutes, WVU misfired on three more shots, and in the 71st minute, OSU goalie Michela Ongaro made one of her four saves on a diving stop.
The lone goal in the match finally came at the 71:02 mark. From just inside midfield, Carly Black sent a long free kick into the box that an OSU defender was unable to clear, and Lawrence was there to chip it into the back of the net from two-yards out to put WVU up, 1-0.
Down a goal, OSU recorded seven shots over the final 15 minutes, the best chance coming on another Dike attempt that was saved by Keane, but the Cowgirls couldn't manage the equalizer.
Earning All-Tournament Team honors for the Cowgirls were forwards Dike and Mercado, as well as defender Natalie Calhoun and midfielder Allie Stephenson.
OSU now awaits its NCAA Soccer Championship fate. The field of 64 will be announced online at NCAA.com Monday at 3:30 p.m.
"I told them to keep their heads up - we have nothing to be disappointed or ashamed of," Carmichael said. "No one expected to be in the final except us, and I don't think a lot of people expected us to give West Virginia as hard a time as we did. I'm so proud of the team.
"We feel like we deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament, certainly on that performance, and we should be. We'll regroup and watch the selection show to see if they send us."
