Cowgirl Soccer Concludes Home Schedule With Pair Of Matches

Game Notes

West Virginia (5-4-6, 2-1-3) at Oklahoma State (10-2-3, 3-1-2)

Thurs., Oct. 20 • 7 p.m. • Stillwater, Okla.
Neal Patterson Stadium

#18 Texas (11-1-3, 5-0-1) at Oklahoma State (10-2-3, 3-1-2)

Sun., Oct. 23 • 1 p.m. • Stillwater, Okla.
Neal Patterson Stadium

TV/Video: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Mike Wolfe & Anna Beffer)
Radio: Stillwater Radio KGFY 105.5 FM/stillwaterradio.net (Bill Van Ness)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Updates: @CowgirlFC

About Oklahoma State

     • Oklahoma State is 10-2-3 and in fourth place in the Big 12 standings at 3-1-2 in conference play. The Cowgirls conclude the home portion of their schedule this week as they host West Virginia Thursday night before a Sunday showdown against No. 18 and league-leading Texas.
    • OSU is coming off a 9-6-3 season in 2021 in which the Cowgirls finished fourth in the Big 12 standings at 4-3-1.
     • The Cowgirls return 11 letterwinners from last season, including six starters and a pair of three-time All-Big 12 performers in Grace Yochum and Olyvia Dowell.
     • The 2022 season is the 27th in program history; over the first 26, OSU posted a 311-173-59 (.627) record. Head coach Colin Carmichael entered his 17th season at the helm in 2021 with a 228-93-46 mark.

Scouting The Opponents

     • West Virginia is 5-4-6 overall and fifth in the Big 12 standings at 2-1-3 in conference play.
     • Goalie Kayza Massey ranks second in the Big 12 with six shutouts for the Mountaineers, who are led by 27th-year head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.
     • OSU is 3-9-0 in the all-time series with WVU, but the Cowgirls have won the last three meetings.
     • Texas is 11-1-3 overall and atop the Big 12 standings at 5-0-1 in league play entering a Thursday night game at Iowa State.
     • Led by Trinity Byars (12 goals, 9 assists) UT ranks in the top 10 nationally and leads the Big 12 in numerous offensive categories.
     • OSU is 13-11-7 all time against Texas. Since 2013, the Cowgirls are 6-1-3 against the Horns, the lone loss coming last season in Austin.

D-Fense

OSU has allowed only nine goals this season while posting a 0.60 goals against average, .852 save percentage and nine shutouts – the Cowgirls lead the Big 12 in each of those categories. They rank 12th nationally in goals against average, 11th in save percentage and 17th in shutouts.

Goal Queen

     Grace Yochum sits atop the list of Oklahoma State's all-time goal and point scorers.
     In 82 career games, Yochum has amassed 41 goals. Against Stephen F. Austin, she tied OSU's previous career record of 35 with her first goal and then broke the mark with her second of the contest.
     The previous record of 35 was held by Jolene Schweitzer and Yolanda Odenyo. Schweitzer first set the mark in 2004, and Odenyo tied it in 2008.
     Yochum also owns OSU's all-time points record with 91; she set that mark with her goal vs. Iowa State.
     As a freshman in 2018, Yochum tallied four goals. She followed that with 11 as a sophomore, 12 in 2020 and six last season. Her eight goals this season are tied for the fourth most in the Big 12.

Scoring Surge

   Olyvia Dowell has added firepower to the OSU attack since stepping on campus in 2019.
     With 30 career goals, Dowell is tied for sixth on OSU's all-time list, and her 80 points is seventh. She also ranks second with 245 shots.
     As a freshman, Dowell recorded five goals and eight assists, and she followed that with an even more impressive showing as a sophomore as she ranked fifth in the NCAA with 31 points on the strength of 12 goals and seven assists. Her 12 goals tied for the Big 12 lead along with teammate Grace Yochum and ranked sixth nationally; the seven assists topped the conference. Dowell's goal is the most ever goals by an OSU sophomore, and the 31 points was the seventh most in a single season in program history.
     Dowell tied for the team lead with six goals in 2021, with five of those coming in Big 12 play, and she has found the back of the net seven times this season.

She's A Giver

Olyvia Dowell is tied for ninth on OSU's all-time assists list with 20. She had season assist totals of eight, seven and three in her first three years as a Cowgirl and has two this season.

Clutch

Grace Yochum and Olyvia Dowell have combined for 29 game-winning goals in their careers, with Yochum notching 21 and Dowell adding eight.
Yochum led the NCAA with eight game-winning goals during the 2020 season, and her five game winners are the third most in the NCAA this season.

Award Tour

     • Olyvia Dowell was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for Week One after leading the league with three goals in the first two games of the season.
     • Grace Yochum was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for Week Four after scoring four goals in a pair of wins and setting OSU's all-time goals record in the process.
     • For their Week Five performances in wins over Mercer and Brown, Jordan Nytes was named the Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, while Olyvia Dowell was named to the College Soccer News Women's National Team of the week and was honorable mention for the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.
     • After leading OSU to a pair of shutouts on the opening weekend of Big 12 play, Jordan Nytes was named the Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week and to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, while Mollie Breiner was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.

Freshmen Showing Out

     Freshman goalie Jordan Nytes started OSU's first 13 games in goal before missing the last two due to injury. In just over 1,115 minutes of action, she leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th nationally in goals against average (0.48) and 11th in save percentage (.878). She has recorded five shutouts and has combined for three others as OSU leads the league with nine clean sheets.
     Fellow frosh Gracie Bindbeutel ranks among the NCAA leaders in shot accuracy, with 21 of her 36 shots (.583) being on goal. Bindbeutel ranks third on the Cowgirls with four goals on the year.
     Nytes is No. 8 on the TopDrawerSoccer.Com Midseason Women's Freshman Top 100, while Bindbeutel is ranked 31st on that list.

Checking The Rankings

OSU remains No. 3 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Midwest Region rankings behind TCU and Texas; the Cowgirls also received three votes in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings poll.
In the official NCAA RPI, OSU comes in at No. 37, while West Virginia is No. 78 and Texas No. 27.

Feeling The Love

     Grace Yochum is one of 38 players on the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Midfielders to Watch List. She came in at No. 67 on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Women's Top 100 Players list and remained in that spot on the midseason rankings.
     Jordan Nytes was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Freshman Best XI at goalkeeper, and she is No. 8 on the TopDrawerSoccer.Com Midseason Women's Freshman Top 100.
     Olyvia Dowell is No. 55 on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Midseason Women's Top 100 Players list.

Home Sweet Home

In five seasons at Neal Patterson Stadium, OSU has compiled a 34-8-4 record (.783) on its home turf, including a 4-1-1 mark this season.