LOGAN, Utah --Kyndall Treadwell's goal in the ninth minute was the difference as 20th-ranked Oklahoma State topped Utah State, 1-0, Friday at Bell Soccer Field.
The win was the third in a row for the Cowgirls, who improved to 3-1-0 on the season. USU suffered its first defeat of 2009 and is also 3-1-0.
Freshman goalkeeper Adrianna Franch collected the first shutout of her collegiate career for the Cowgirls, picking up a career-best five saves along the way.
"We'll always take a win on the road," Carmichael said. "Credit Utah State - they played very well. They were very physical and direct and made it very uncomfortable for us. They did a great job of taking us out of our game. We did not do a good job of playing to our strengths, and that's probably what made it such a close game."
Utah State had the match's first scoring opportunity just under two minutes in, but Franch made a great save on a shot from 25-yards out by Lauren Hansen as she leapt and punched the ball over the crossbar.
OSU got on the scoreboard at the 8:41 mark when Treadwell collected her second goal of the season. The sophomore's shot from 13-yards out sailed over USU goalie Molli Merrill to the far upper post to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 lead.
The Aggies managed just two shots in the second half but had several scoring rallies thwarted by Franch and an OSU defense led by Melinda Mercado and Carson Michalowski.
"AD (Franch) came up huge," Carmichael said. "She made a tremendous save in the first half and some other good saves. In the second half, she had to deal with a lot of high balls in the box, and she made some good punches. She kept us in it.
"And (Mercado and Michalowski) were huge - without those two, we don't win that game. They won a lot of headers in the second half when Utah State was launching balls in, and that was big."
OSU returns to action Monday in a battle of ranked teams as the Cowgirls take on No. 22 BYU in Provo, Utah, at 1 p.m. (CST).
