Nov. 4, 2009

Box Score in PDF Format

SAN ANTONIO - Fifth-seeded Oklahoma State advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Soccer Championship for the fourth-straight year with a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded Nebraska Wednesday at Blossom Soccer Stadium. 

Wednesday's win was the sixth in a row for the Cowgirls, who improved to 13-7 on the season, as OSU avenged a regular season loss to Nebraska (11-5-4) last month in Lincoln. Coach Colin Carmichael's squad advances to the tourney semifinals and will take on the Missouri-Kansas winner Friday at 5:30 p.m. 

Annika Niemeier, Katie Richardson and Kasey Langdon each collected goals in Wednesday's win over the Huskers, and freshman goalie AD Franch set OSU's single-season shutout record with her ninth of the year. The shutout was also the 12^th of the season for OSU, tying the school record set twice before (2003, 2006).

"We're obviously happy with the win and to win it 3-0 is a great job by our kids against a tough team," Carmichael said. "It's always a battle when you play Nebraska, and I thought our kids stood up to it really well and played enough quality soccer to win."

OSU got on the scoreboard early with a goal in the 11^th minute. Langdon sent a cross to Niemeier just outside the box, and Niemeier blasted it past NU goalie Tara Macdonald for her team-leading 10^th goal of the season. The assist was the third of the season for Langdon.

The Cowgirls increased their lead with just under eight minutes remaining until intermission when Katie Richardson beat the NU defense and drilled a shot from 10-yards out. The shot caromed off the far post into the opposite side of the net for Richardson's fifth goal of the season and a 2-0 OSU advantage.

OSU nearly got its third first-half goal with under two minutes remaining after Krista Lopez tracked down a long pass just outside the 18-yard box. But Macdonald came out and made a diving save to keep the Cowgirls from increasing their lead. 

The Cowgirls had a pair of near misses early in the second half. The first came when Langdon dribbled past the defense before taking a shot that went just wide of the far post. Minutes later, it was Siera Strawser in a similar situation, but NU keeper Jessica Mills made a diving save to again thwart a score.

OSU got a highlight-reel save of its own at the 39-minute mark to maintain its shutout as Franch leapt to knock away a header from Shay Powell. 

Langdon's string of close calls continued in the 35^th minute when her shot from just outside the box was saved over the crossbar by Macdonald.

But with 15:06 remaining, Langdon finally got in the goal column as she again got behind the defense, this time putting it in the back of the net by slipping the ball under Macdonald. The goal was Langdon's fifth of the season and first since Oct. 2 at Iowa State. 

Franch, who earlier in the day was named the All-Big 12 First Team goalkeeper, finished with five saves against a Nebraska squad that outshot the Cowgirls by a 14-10 margin.

"(Franch) is just an amazing athlete, and for her, as a freshman, to be first-team All-Big 12 and set the school record for shutouts is an amazing achievement," Carmichael said.

Franch admitted she was unaware about the record and was just happy the Cowgirls were able to advance to Friday.

"I really had no idea about (the shutout record) until Colin told me," Franch said. "He said, `Hey, you just beat the school record,' and I was like `Cool, but we just won!' We're going on in the tournament, and that's my only thought process.

"It was good to get some revenge and show Nebraska who we really are. That first game we played them, none of us were there. As a whole team, it was probably the worst game that we played all year. But today we were able to settle down and keep our composure and get a win."