Cowgirl Soccer Hosts Big 12 Showdowns

Thursday, September 19

Stillwater, OK

7:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Colorado

Image Taken at Texas A&M Commerce, Sunday, September 15, 2024, Neal Patterson Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Jaiden Daughty/OSU Athletics.

Gracie Bindbeutel

Photo by: Oklahoma State University Athletics Oklahoma State University Athletics

September 17, 2024 | Cowgirl Soccer

Week 6 Colorado & Texas Tech

#21 Colorado (7-1-0, 1-0-0) at #12 Oklahoma State (8-0-1, 1-0-0)

Thurs., Sept. 19 • 7 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Neal Patterson Stadium

Texas Tech (5-2-1, 0-0-1) at #12 Oklahoma State (8-0-1, 1-0-0)

Sun., Sept. 22 • 1 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Neal Patterson Stadium

TV/Video: ESPN+ (Dave Saunders & Anna Berghall)
Radio: The Varsity Network/Stillwater Radio KGFY 105.5 FM (Ryan Breeden)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @CowgirlFC

About Oklahoma State

     • Oklahoma State is 8-0-1 on the season, including a 1-0-0 Big 12 mark, and has outscored its opponents, 24-0. This week, the Cowgirls host a pair of conference matches at Neal Patterson Stadium, taking on No. 21 Colorado on Thursday night before a Sunday showdown with Texas Tech.
     • OSU is coming off a 12-8-0 season in 2023 in which the Cowgirls finished seventh in the Big 12 standings with a 5-5-0 conference mark.
     • The Cowgirls return nine starters and 16 letterwinners from last season.
     • The 2024 season is the 29th in program history; over the first 28, OSU posted a 334-185-63 (.628) record. Head coach Colin Carmichael enters his 20th season at the helm in 2024 with a 251-105-50 mark.

Scouting The Opponents

     • Colorado is 7-1-0 and won its Big 12 opener, 1-0, at Kansas State. The Buffaloes' lone loss is at home to No. 8 North Carolina.
     • OSU is 4-11-2 all time against Colorado. The last meeting came in 2016 in Boulder with the Buffaloes winning a 3-1 contest in the opening round of the NCAA Championship.
     • Texas Tech is 5-2-1 heading into a Thursday match against Utah in Lubbock. The Red Raiders, who opened league play with a scoreless draw at TCU, are second in the Big 12 with 23 goals.
     • OSU owns a 16-9-7 record in the all-time series with Texas Tech. Last season, the Red Raiders were 1-0 winners in Lubbock.

Last Week

OSU opened Big 12 play with a 1-0 win at Baylor last Thursday as Xcaret Pineda's goal in the 19th minute was the difference. On Sunday, the Cowgirls closed out non-conference play with a 6-0 victory at home over Texas A&M-Commerce.

In The Rankings

     OSU is ranked No. 12 by both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer.com in this week's national polls, marking the fifth consecutive week the Cowgirls have appeared in the rankings. The Cowgirls were No. 11 in the Aug. 27th United Soccer Coaches poll, their highest ranking since they were No. 11 in both polls on Nov. 17, 2020.
     OSU entered the national rankings on Aug. 19/20 for the first time since Aug. 30, 2021, when the Cowgirls were 22nd in the TDS poll.
     In this week's United Soccer Coaches Midwest Region Rankings, OSU is No. 1, while Colorado checks in at No. 2. The Cowgirls are also No. 20 in the official NCAA RPI, which was released for the first time this week; Colorado is 45th in the RPI, while Texas Tech is No. 65.

Just The Two Of Us

OSU is one of only two teams nationally that has not allowed a goal this season. The other is Auburn, who has eight shutouts.

Clean Sheets

     OSU's nine consecutive shutouts stands as the longest streak in program history. In 2011, the Cowgirls had shutout streaks of six and five matches, which marked the previous best streaks.
     • The streak of nine-straight shutouts is tied for the second longest in Big 12 Conference history. West Virginia owns the record with 10 in a row in 2016, while WVU (2015) and Nebraska (1997) also had streaks of nine consecutive clean sheets.
     • Santa Clara owns the NCAA record for consecutive shutouts with 16 in 1998.
     • The Cowgirls' previous best shutout streak to begin a season was three games in 2005.
     • Grace Gordon's six shutouts rank second nationally this season and is tied for the eighth most in a season in program history.

Start Streaking

     OSU's 5-0-0 start to the season was its best since starting 6-0-0 in 2012. The 2011 Cowgirls opened the season with a program record 15 consecutive wins.
     The Cowgirls' current nine-game unbeaten streak is its longest to open a season since 2019 when OSU started 7-0-2.
     In 2011, the Cowgirls went unbeaten in their first 21 matches (19-0-2) to set a program benchmark. The 2003 squad did not lose in its first 13 matches (11-0-2), and four OSU teams - 2008 (9-0-1), 2005 (8-0-2), 2004 (9-0-1) and 2002 (10-0-0) - opened the season with 10-game unbeaten streaks.

Goose Egg In The Loss Column

OSU is one of 19 undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Women's Division I soccer. The Cowgirls are fifth nationally with a .944 winning percentage.

Sharing the Wealth

OSU's 24 goals this season have been scored by 11 different players. Logan Heausler leads the Cowgirls with five goals, while Nicole Ray and Xcaret Pineda each have three.
Thirteen Cowgirls have also recorded assists on the year, with Laudan Wilson and Alex Morris leading the way with four apiece; that duo is tied for second in the Big 12 in assists this season.

The Difference Between Me & You

OSU has outscored its opponents 24-0 on the year; the Cowgirls rank third nationally in goal differential, trailing only Auburn and Arkansas, who are both +30.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

OSU's trio of starting center backs is a big reason the Cowgirls have not allowed a goal this season - and it's rare to not see them on the field.
Mollie Breiner has played the full 90 minutes in five of OSU's nine matches and has been on the field for 743 of a possible 810 minutes. Ellie Geoffroy has played full time in four matches (697 minutes total), while Chloé Joseph has played 90 minutes three times (690 minutes total).

Veteran Presence

     The 2024 Cowgirls are an experienced group, with nine starters and 16 letterwinners returning.
     Both Mollie Breiner and Alex Morris are in their fifth year of competition with OSU and have each played in nearly 70 career games for the Cowgirls.
     Graduate transfer Grace Gordon is in her second year in Stillwater following three seasons at Seton Hall, while fellow grad transfers Kate Dreyer (Kansas) and Makenzie Graham (Virginia Tech) will also play their fifth and final collegiate seasons with the Cowgirls.
     Another transfer, Jaidy Gutierrez Campos, played her first three seasons at South Alabama and started 50 games in goal.

Mavens Of The Midfield

OSU midfielders Xcaret Pineda and Laudan Wilson were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The Cowgirls' duo makes up two of the 24-player team selected by the conference's head coaches.

Recognized

     A list of OSU's award winners & honorees during the 2024 season:
     • Mollie Breiner - TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, 8/20
                                    Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, 8/21
                                   TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, 8/27
     • Grace Gordon - Big 12 Co-Goalkeeper of the Week, 8/21
                                    Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week, 9/4
     • Bella Pierotti - Big 12 Freshman of the Week, 8/28
     • Ellie Geoffroy - Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, 9/11
     • Alex Morris - TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, 8/17

X Gives It To Ya

     Junior midfielder Xcaret Pineda is one of the leaders of OSU's attack, and she had a breakout sophomore season to earn a spot on the 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team.
     Pineda started all 20 games for the Cowgirls a year ago and was second on the team with 17 points. She posted six goals and five assists, both of which rank third on the squad.
     The Illinois native led OSU with 60 shots, 25 of those on goal. She tallied three goals and an assist in Big 12 play.
     Pineda is OSU's second-leading scorer this season with three goals and a pair of assists.

Saving Grace

     Grace Gordon established herself as OSU's goalkeeper in her first season in Stillwater in 2023 as she started 19 games and posted six shutouts in 1,635 minutes of action.
     A transfer who spent her first three seasons at Seton Hall, Gordon ranked second in the Big 12 with a 0.83 goals against average and .815 save percentage, while her six clean sheets was fifth.
     During OSU's five-game winning streak in September, Gordon allowed only two goals and posted three shutouts. She recorded a season-high eight saves in her Big 12 debut to help OSU to a win at Iowa State.
     With her six shutouts (she also played a role in two combined shutouts), Gordon is the Big 12's returning leader in that category in 2024.

Climbing

Grace Gordon ranks sixth on OSU's career shutouts list with 12 in just 28 games in a Cowgirl uniform; she needs two more to move into fourth (AD Franch owns the record with 38 from 2009-12). Gordon has 21 clean sheets in her collegiate career after recording nine in three seasons at Seton Hall.
Gordon's 93 saves in an OSU uniform ranks eighth in program history, and she is currently atop the list in goals against average at 0.57.

Breakout

     In her first two collegiate seasons, Logan Heausler played in just 17 games; she appeared in 14 as a freshman then missed the majority of 2022 after suffering a season-ending injury just three games in.
     Last season, Heausler emerged as one of OSU's top attacking players as the Houston native played in all 20 games and was the Cowgirls' leading scorer with 18 points. She tied for the team lead with seven goals and turned in a streak of four consecutive matches - three of them against Big 12 opponents - in which she scored a goal.
     Heausler has continued to lead the attack in 2024 with a team-high five goals to go along with a pair of assists. She leads the Big 12 in shots with 40.

Home Sweet Home

OSU has won 79 percent of its games in four seasons at Neal Patterson Stadium, which opened in 2019. The Cowgirls are 47-10-6 on their current home turf, including posting a 4-0-1 mark season.
OSU has gone undefeated at home in seven seasons in its history, the last time coming in 2019.