August 26, 2012
FOURTH STRAIGHT
Cowgirls win another

STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma State continued its winning ways Sunday afternoon as the fourth-ranked Cowgirls knocked off Creighton, 4-1, at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.

For the first time all season, OSU trailed in a match, but the Cowgirls recorded four unanswered goals – two of them by freshman Madison Mercado – to cruise to the win and improve to 4-0-0 on the season.

OSU head coach Colin Carmichael was pleased with how his team answered after falling behind less than two minutes into the contest.

“That’s something you don’t know until you’re put in that position – we weren’t sure how we’d respond,” Carmichael said. “Giving up the early goal and being able to come back and take a lead before halftime was a real bonus for us, and I was really proud of them.

“Overall, we were pretty solid. I still think we’re a work in progress. We’re not quite there yet, but I think you can see that in every game we get a little bit better.”

Creighton (0-2-1) got on the scoreboard in the second minuute when Sarah Kendall sent a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box that snuck just inside the far post for a goal.

The Cowgirls answered and tied the score in the 17th minute. Off a corner kick, Makenzie Kahan flicked a header towards the box, and Mercado was there to send the ball past CU goalie Katie Jo Swanson.

“It felt good to finally get that first goal of my college career over with,” Mercado said. “The whole team did well. We scored a lot more goals than we did last weekend, and we’re happy with that.”

OSU took the lead for good in the 21st minute. Kelsey Bass sent a long pass ahead to Megan Marchesano, who outran her defender, then beat Swanson for an open-net opportunity. And the senior converted, as her 19th-career goal gave the Cowgirls a 2-1 advantage.

The Cowgirls’ third goal came via a penalty kick in the 38th minute. After Heidi Greeson was fouled in the box, Taylor Mathews stepped up and converted the PK for her first goal of the year.

OSU led 3-1 for most of the remainder of the contest. All-American goalie AD Franch came up with a pair of impressive saves in a six-second span in the 64th minute, stopping a header by Gabriela Guillen and the rebound shot by Alissa Kohmetscher to keep the Bluejays from getting any closer, and Mercado’s second goal of the contest came off a Kristen Kelley assist in the 87th minute.

The Cowgirls will next be on the road for the first time this season as they travel to Birmingham, Ala., Friday to take on UAB before a Sunday showdown against Memphis.