THIRD STRAIGHT
Cowgirls roll past Vandy 3-0

STILLWATER, Okla. – Fourth-ranked Oklahoma State won for the third time this season Friday night as the Cowgirls topped Vanderbilt, 3-1, at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

OSU had three different players find the back of the net against Vandy as the Cowgirls improved to 3-0-0.

“Scoring three goals was very pleasing, and we beat a very good Vanderbilt team,” said OSU head coach Colin Carmichael said. “The fact that we had a couple girls scoring might give them some confidence that next time they’ll bury some more… I’m very pleased with the effort and very pleased with the result.”


For the first time this season, OSU notched a goal in the opening half, compliments of freshman Allie Stephenson’s first-career goal. In the 31st minute, after dribbling past several Vandy defenders, Stephenson capped an impressive individual effort with a blast from 15-yards out past goalie Alexa Levick to put the Cowgirls on top.


“We worked on finishing a lot this week so our goal was to get one in the first half because we knew we could get more if we put that first one away,” Stephenson said. “(Offensively), we meshed a lot better. Our center forwards were checking the ball, and we were just playing off each other.”


“It was pretty special,” Carmichael said of Stephenson’s goal. “She’s been a tremendous player for us, and that goal was just individual creativity and great ability. She’s been maybe our best player over the three games.”


OSU took the 1-0 advantage into intermission but didn’t take long before doubling its lead. In the 52nd minute, Stephenson sent a perfect pass to Megan Marchesano, who delivered her first goal of the year to put the Cowgirls up, 2-0. The goal was the 18th of Marchesano’s career, leaving her just two shy of cracking OSU’s career top 10 in that category.


The Commodores (1-1-0) cut their deficit in half just over 12 minutes later as Cheyna Williams scored the first goal against OSU this season when her shot deflected off the fingertips of a diving AD Franch and into the net.


OSU clung to the one-goal lead until tallying its third score of the night to gain some breathing room in the 82nd minute. And it was another Cowgirl freshman recording her first-career goal as Makenzie Kahan was credited with the score after a Vandy defender tried to clear the ball and it ricocheted off Kahan’s leg and across the line.

The Cowgirls return to action Sunday when they host Creighton at 1 p.m.