Cowgirls Top Sooners In Big 12 Tourney Bedlam

Grant Belcher, News9.com

SAN ANTONIO – The Cowgirls and Sooners met for a third time this season on Wednesday.

And for a third time, OSU came away with a shutout victory.

Oklahoma State used a late goal to get past OU 1-0 in the first round of the Big 12 tournament in San Antonio.

A goal from Taylor Matthews with fewer than three minutes remaining gave OSU the boost it needed to hold on and advance.

Teammate Megan Marchesano made the play easy for Matthews after breaking free up the right side and drawing OU goalie Kelsey Devonshire to her.

Marchesano dropped the pass across to Matthews, who sent it in with 2:54 remaining.

"If I hadn't scored that, it would have been horrible for Megan because she worked so hard to get that ball and she made it easy for me," Matthews said. "It would have been hard to miss that."

The second-ranked Cowgirls, who were also the top seed in the tournament, had a number of opportunities throughout the game with 16 shots and six on goal. They had several solid attempts in the first half, including a shot sent off the crossbar by Krista Lopez.

Devonshire and OSU goalie AD Franch each put up five saves in the game.

Cowgirls coach Colin Carmichael said Bedlam is always going to be a tight game. The Bedlam game in Stillwater earlier in the season went into the 78th minute before a decision.

"You never have an easy game with your rivals," Carmichael said. "It was a setup for failure for us. We knew coming in that we would get OU's best shot. It wasn't a game I particularly wanted, but our team knows how to win. They know how to get it done."

The Sooners had a couple of opportunities themselves, including a would-be goal that was called off due to an offsides penalty in the 35th minute.

OU finishes the season with a record of 7-13-0.

The Cowgirls remain unbeaten at 18-0-2, and will face Texas in the semifinals on Friday at 5:30 p.m.