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OSU Soccer: Cowgirls Beat Oklahoma 3–1, Sit a Win Away from Big 12 Championship

Cowgirl soccer beat OU in gross weather Friday night.

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STILLWATER — The Cowgirls stayed hot despite horrendous conditions.

Oklahoma State defeated Bedlam rival Oklahoma 3-1 in Neal Patterson Stadium as rain fell from the Oklahoma sky throughout the game. It was just 46 degrees at kickoff. The victory makes the Cowgirls 13-1-3 this season and a game away from clinching their second Big 12 title in the past three seasons.

“I think it’s kinda fun playing in this (weather),” senior defender Elise Hawn said. “I don’t know, it’s Bedlam. It’s already crazy then you add the weather to that.

“Not once were we like, ‘Oh, no. We have to play in the rain.’ All of us were pumped. We were like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do this.’ I think it’s more of a mentality thing.”

After the Cowgirls led 2-0 at halftime, things got tight after an unfortunate Ally Jackson own goal. OSU was pinned in its defensive third for a good chunk of the second half trying to defend its 2-1 lead.

The Cowgirls were finally able to get some relief from a Jaci Jones corner kick in the 82nd minute. Jones, a senior, swung the ball in toward OU goalkeeper Nikki Panas. Just before the ball got to Panas’ gloves, though, Camy Huddleston flew in and headed the ball in.

Claire Gantzer scored the game’s first goal less than two minutes after subbing on.

Kim Rodriguez took a free kick from near the midfield line in the 31st minute. The ball made it all the way in to Panas. Panas punched the ball into the rain-filled air, but it only went as far as Gantzer, a senior, who headed the ball up and over Panas. It was her first goal of the season.

OSU didn’t sit on its 1-0 lead for long. In the 36th minute, Jaci Jones skidded a ball into the six-yard box that Panas couldn’t keep hold of with all of the water. Freshman Olyvia Dowell poked the ball into the back of the net.

“Jaci, obviously, made a great run down the line,” Dowell said. “I was gonna run to the near post, but I didn’t get there as fast as I wanted to. The goalkeeper spilled it, and then me and Julia (Lenhardt) just kind of like bombarded her. I just got a little toe in. If I wouldn’t have got it, Julia probably would.”

There are a few ways OSU can win the Big 12 depending on other results around the league, but the most simple way for the Cowgirls to lift the trophy on Halloween night is beating Baylor.

“We talked about it today, and then we won’t talk about it again,” Carmichael said. “We’ll very simply focus on Baylor. It’s another tough Big 12 game. They’re a very, very good team. They’re very physical. So, we’ll just focus on the next game. That’s what we always do.

“But, the kids know. They understand. They read social media, and they get it. But we’ll try to keep them focused on the next game. That’s what we’ve done all year, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

 

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