Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas Tech
Cowgirls Advance To Big 12 Soccer Championship Final
November 09, 2013 | Cowgirl Soccer
Nov. 9, 2013
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma State upset No. 7 Texas Tech, 1-0, Friday night at Swope Soccer Village to advance to the title game of the Big 12 Conference Soccer Championship.
With the win, the sixth-seeded Cowgirls improved to 9-5-6 on the season and will take on Big 12 regular season champion West Virginia in Sunday's title match, which is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will air on Fox Sports 1. OSU has now advanced to the Big 12 tourney championship game in four of the last five years and will be looking for their third title during that span (the Cowgirls won titles in 2009 and 2010).
Courtney Dike's goal in the 22nd minute was the difference, and OSU's defense came up big time and again in the second half to thwart numerous Texas Tech rallies and secure the victory. The loss was just the second of the season for the Red Raiders as the tourney's second-seeded team fell to 17-2-2.
“It's been a learning curve for us all year; we played one of the toughest schedules in the country and that prepares you for games like this,” said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. “We told the girls after the game that early in the season we would not have held that lead. But we've learned that lesson, and we're a much tougher nut to crack now.”
OSU took the lead 21:27 into the match with Dike making a pair of standout efforts to put the Cowgirls on the scoreboard.
After battling a TTU defender for possession in the box, Dike forced a corner kick. And on that ensuing play, the Cowgirls' leading scorer would give OSU the lead.
Madison Mercado took the corner and sent a ball into the box, and Dike was able to deflect the ball in from three-yards out. The goal was the first Texas Tech has allowed in the opening half all season and just the seventh goal the Red Raiders have given up on the year.
“We all worked hard to get in there, get something on it, and it went in,” Dike said. “You just try to find a way to get to the ball and get something good to happen.”
Dike's goal was her 13th of the season, which ties the freshman for the fourth most in a single season in OSU history, three shy of Yolanda Odenyo's record 16 in 2008.
“Unbelievable – 'freshman phenom' gets used a lot, but it's true with (Dike),” Carmichael said. “She's our go-to player, she makes us tick, we rely on her, and for a freshman she handles it so well. She's getting the job done, and we're thrilled for her.”
Dike nearly doubled OSU's lead in the opening minute of the second half. Allie Stephenson sent a pass ahead that Dike took in stride, but her shot from eight-yards out was saved by TTU goalie Victoria Esson, who made a great diving kick save.
From that point, it was the Cowgirls' defense that made clutch saves as the Tech offense turned up the heat in the second half. In the final 45 minutes, the Red Raiders outshot OSU, 12-3, but they couldn't find the back of the net.
In the final half, the OSU defense blocked three shots, and freshman goalkeeper Michela Ongaro continued her standout play, recording four saves, including stopping a 25-yard blast by Alli Murphy in the 56th minute and making a diving save on a shot Kansas Bayly in 76th minute.
“We knew in the second half with the wind at their back and a goal down they were gonna push numbers up, and they did,” Carmichael said. “We just had to hang on. We were patching holes. Natalie Calhoun came off injured, and we had to put Kristen Kelley at center back – that's a bit of a problem for us.
“But I'm really proud of the effort. We hung on, we were tenacious. And Michela (Ongaro) did what she's been doing – she came up big for us.”
Added Dike, “It was super frantic and super nerve-racking. We've grown as a team in that aspect, holding on to the lead, because early in the season we tended to let it go. We've showed that we will keep fighting and not give up, and we played a full 90 minutes. That's why we came out on top.”
