STILLWATER – In its Big 12 Conference opener, Oklahoma State came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Texas Tech Thursday night at Neal Patterson Stadium.
With the tie, OSU moved to 9-1-2 overall and remains atop the league standings at 2-0-1; TTU is now 4-3-5 and 0-1-2 in Big 12 play.
The Red Raiders jumped out to an early lead in the sixth minute when Elise Anderson’s long-range shot just beat reigning Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week Jordan Nytes to put the visitors up 1-0.
The Cowgirls would quickly settle into the high-paced match, with freshman Xcaret Pineda nearly equalizing in the 20th minute before her long shot was saved by the Red Raiders goalkeeper.
Just 12 minutes later, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Mollie Breiner capitalized on a scramble in the box to put the Cowgirls back level at 1-1 going into the break.
It was more of the same in the second half as the teams went back-and-forth trading shots, with OSU notching nine shots in the second period.
Cowgirl defender Kionna Simon saved a potential game-winning goal for the Red Raiders on OSU’s own goal line, making the clearance of a slow-rolling shot to keep the game at 1-1 in the 80th minute.
Despite late attacks from the Cowgirls, including a 90th minute free kick from Pineda that almost resulted in a game winner for OSU, neither team could break the deadlock.
OSU led the contest in shots, 15-10, forcing three saves on TTU goalkeeper Madison White, while tallying five corner kicks as well.
The Cowgirls return to action Thursday against Oklahoma in Norman for the Phillips 66 Bedlam Series, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
