HOUSTON -- Oklahoma State picked up its fourth non-conference win of the season Friday against Rice with a 1-0 win at Rice Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, the 19th-ranked Cowgirls improved to 4-2 on the season, while Rice fell to 1-4-1.
Annika Niemeier's header off a Colleen Dougherty free kick in the 47th minute proved to be the game-winning score, and OSU survived playing the final 17:53 a player down after being issued a red card. Freshman goalie Adrianna Franch recorded the second shutout of her career with a three-save effort.
"It was exhausting, and I was nervous because (Rice) was always in our end," said Dougherty of OSU playing the last 18 minutes with only 10 players. "We just focused on getting the ball out of there. It's less about possession - you just have to make sure they don't score. And we did a very good job of that."
OSU outshot the Owls 8-6 in the opening half, and with just under 24 minutes remaining before intermission, the Cowgirls nearly put one of those shots in the net. But Kasey Langdon's attempt hit the top of the far post and bounced away.
Rice had a great scoring opportunity of its own at the 19:21 mark as Shelley Wong blasted a shot from 12-yards out. But Franch made a leaping save to keep the Owls off the scoreboard.
Franch denied Rice again six minutes later as she made a diving save of a shot by Erin Scott to keep the match knotted at 0-0.
OSU wasted little time getting on the scoreboard after intermission. After Rice was whistled for a foul just less than three minutes into the half, Dougherty took the free kick from 40 yards out. Niemeier leapt and flicked a header into the back of the net to give the Cowgirls a 1-0 advantage. The goal was the second of the season for Niemeier, while Dougherty recorded the first assist of her career.
With the Cowgirls on the attack for more, Rice goalie Meghan Erkel made three nice saves the rest of the way to keep the Cowgirls from adding to their lead.
OSU was dealt a blow with 17:53 left in the match when Kyndall Treadwell was given a red card, leaving the Cowgirls a player down for the remainder of the match. But the OSU defense stiffened and kept Rice off the scoreboard as the Cowgirls recorded their fourth shutout win of the season.
OSU returns to action Sunday against Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
