Oct. 4, 2009

Box Score | Box Score

LINCOLN, Neb. - Oklahoma State suffered its third-straight loss Sunday afternoon as Nebraska bested the Cowgirls, 2-0, at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

With the loss, OSU, which had won three consecutive matches against Nebraska, fell to 7-6-0 overall and 1-4-0 in Big 12 Conference play. Nebraska improved to 7-2-3 and 1-1-1 in league play.

"We got outworked and outfought by a team who wanted it more than us and was more hungry to win the game," said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael. "We didn't create enough chances to win the game. Nebraska didn't allow us to get good possessions, and we didn't work hard enough to create them."

NU got on the scoreboard with its first goal just over 10 minutes into the match as Shay Powell's shot from 10-yards out drilled the crossbar then bounced over the line to give the Cornhuskers a 1-0 lead.

The Huskers clung to the one-goal lead at intermission. OSU managed just two shots in the opening half, one of those on goal, while NU took four.

Nebraska nearly doubled its lead in early in the second half, but OSU goalie AD Franch made a diving save of a shot by Molly Thomas to keep the Huskers off the scoreboard.

Another stellar defensive play saved the Cowgirls once again just minutes later. When a leaping Franch could not stop a high-arcing shot by Thomas, Whitney Wernimont was there to clear the ball off the line.

OSU dodged another bullet by Thomas with 30 minutes remaining in the match when she blasted a shot off the near post.

The Cowgirls had a strong shot at the equalizer on a counter attack with 16 minutes remaining, but Katie Richardson's shot from 10-yards out was blocked by a Nebraska defender.

Less than four minutes later, another OSU scoring threat was thwarted as NU goalie Jessica Mills made a diving save of a shot off the left foot of Siera Strawser.

Nebraska would take advantage of its next opportunity, however. Off a free kick by Anna Caniglia from 30 yards out, Carly Peetz sent a header past Franch to put the Huskers up, 2-0.

At the nine-minute mark, OSU had a free kick opportunity of its own from the top of the 18-yard box, but Annika Niemeier's shot was blocked by the NU defense and a subsequent shot from Strawser was saved by Mills.

Nebraska outshot the Cowgirls by a 15-8 margin in the match, while both goalies finished with three saves apiece.

OSU returns to action Friday when the Cowgirls host Texas A&M at 7 p.m.