Oklahoma (2-0-0) at #17 Oklahoma State (2-0-0)
Thurs., Aug. 22 • 7 p.m.
Stillwater, Okla. • Neal Patterson Stadium
#17 Oklahoma State (2-0-0) at Central Arkansas (0-1-0)
Sun., Aug. 25 • 1 p.m.
Conway, Ark. • Bill Stephens Soccer Complex
TV/Video: ESPN+ (Thurs. - Dave Saunders & Anna Beffer)
Radio: The Varsity Network/Stillwater Radio KGFY 105.5 FM (Ryan Breeden)
Live Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Twitter In-Game Scoreboard/Updates: @CowgirlFC
About Oklahoma State
• Oklahoma State is 2-0-0 on the season, opening with a road win at sixth-ranked Nebraska before defeating Oral Roberts in its home opener. Up next, the Cowgirls host Bedlam rival Oklahoma Thursday night before a road test at Central Arkansas on Sunday.
• OSU is coming off a 12-8-0 season in 2023 in which the Cowgirls finished seventh in the Big 12 standings with a 5-5-0 conference mark.
• The Cowgirls return nine starters and 16 letterwinners from last season.
• The 2024 season is the 29th in program history; over the first 28, OSU posted a 334-185-63 (.628) record. Head coach Colin Carmichael enters his 20th season at the helm in 2024 with a 251-105-50 mark.
Scouting The Opponents
• Oklahoma is 2-0-0 on the season. The Sooners opened the year with a 1-0 win at North Texas before returning home to beat FIU, 2-1.
• OSU is 31-10-5 all time against Oklahoma. The former Big 12 Conference foes met twice last season, with the Cowgirls winning the regular season finale in Stillwater, 1-0, on a goal by Alex Morris in the 83rd minute; OU would win the rematch five days later at the Big 12 Championship in Round Rock, Texas, by claiming a 1-0 victory.
• Central Arkansas is 0-1-0 entering a Thursday match at home against Alcorn State. The Bears dropped their season opener at Tulsa by a 5-2 count.
• OSU is 3-0-0 in its all-time series with UCA. The two met last season in Stillwater, with the Cowgirls winning, 5-2; Logan Heausler, Ellie Geoffroy, Megan Haines, Shyann McClary and Xcaret Pineda all scored in that game.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State scored a pair of second-half goals to lift it to a 2-0 win in its season opener at No. 6 Nebraska.
Lexi Lee notched the first goal for the Cowgirls in the 67th minute, while Adelhia Ghonda tallied the second in the 75th; Laudan Wilson, Xcaret Pineda and Reganne Morris each recorded assists.
Nebraska outshot OSU by a 22-13 margin, but Grace Gordon had four saves in earning the shutout.
Last Sunday night, OSU dominated the statistics and earned a 1-0 win over Oral Roberts on Xcaret Pineda’s goal in the 78th minute, which was assisted by Logan Heausler and Lexi Lee.
The Cowgirls outshot ORU by a 34-4 margin, and Gordon had three saves to post her second shutout.
Top 10 Statement
With it’s 2-0 win at No. 6 Nebraska in the season opener, OSU recorded its first victory over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 4 West Virginia, 2-1, in double overtime in Stillwater in 2020.
The victory also marked the Cowgirls’ first top-10 road win since a 2-1 double overtime triumph at No. 6 Penn State in 2019.
Feels Good To Be Back
With its 2-0-0 start, OSU entered the national rankings this week; the Cowgirls are No. 17 in both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls.
It marks OSU’s first time in the national rankings since Aug. 30, 2021, when the Cowgirls were 22nd in the TDS poll.
Veteran Presence
The 2024 Cowgirls are an experienced group, with nine starters and 16 letterwinners returning.
Both Mollie Breiner and Alex Morris are in their fifth year of competition with OSU and have each played in nearly 70 career games for the Cowgirls.
Graduate transfer Grace Gordon is in her second year in Stillwater following three seasons at Seton Hall, while fellow grad transfers Kate Dreyer (Kansas) and Makenzie Graham (Virginia Tech) will also play their fifth and final collegiate seasons with the Cowgirls.
Another transfer, Jaidy Gutierrez Campos, played her first three seasons at South Alabama and started 50 games in goal.
Back On the Attack
OSU returns 76 percent of its scoring from last season as nine players that combined for 28 of the Cowgirls’ 37 goals are back. Logan Heausler (7) and Pineda (6) are OSU’s top returning goal scorers.
That’s a stark contrast to a year ago when OSU entered the season with only three active players who had scored a goal in their careers (Xcaret Pineda, Mollie Breiner and Chloe Wright), and that trio had combined for just four goals prior to the season.
Mavens Of The Midfield
OSU midfielders Xcaret Pineda and Laudan Wilson were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The Cowgirls’ duo makes up two of the 24-player team selected by the conference’s head coaches.
Recognized
A list of OSU’s award winners & honorees during the 2024 season:
• Mollie Breiner - TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, 8/20,
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, 8/21
• Grace Gordon - Big 12 Co-Goalkeeper of the Week, 8/21
X Gives It To Ya
Junior midfielder Xcaret Pineda is one of the leaders of OSU’s attack, and she had a breakout sophomore season to earn a spot on the 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team.
Pineda started all 20 games for the Cowgirls a year ago and was second on the team with 17 points. She posted six goals and five assists, both of which rank third on the squad.
The Illinois native led OSU with 60 shots, 25 of those on goal. She tallied three goals and an assist in Big 12 play.
Saving Grace
Grace Gordon established herself as OSU’s goalkeeper in her first season in Stillwater in 2023 as she started 19 games and posted six shutouts in 1,635 minutes of action.
A transfer who spent her first three seasons at Seton Hall, Gordon ranked second in the Big 12 with a 0.83 goals against average and .815 save percentage, while her six clean sheets was fifth.
During OSU’s five-game winning streak in September, Gordon allowed only two goals and posted three shutouts. She recorded a season-high eight saves in her Big 12 debut to help OSU to a win at Iowa State.
With her six shutouts (she also played a role in two combined shutouts), Gordon is the Big 12’s returning leader in that category in 2024.
Climbing
Grace Gordon ranks seventh on OSU’s career shutouts list with eight in just 21 games in a Cowgirl uniform; she needs three more to enter the top five. Gordon has 17 clean sheets in her collegiate career after recording nine in three seasons at Seton Hall.
Gordon’s 73 saves in an OSU uniform also ranks 10th in program history, and she is currently fifth in goals against average at 0.75.
Home Sweet Home
OSU has won 79 percent of its games in four seasons at Neal Patterson Stadium, which opened in 2019. The Cowgirls are 44-10-5 on their current home turf, including posting a 9-1-0 mark last season.
OSU has gone undefeated at home in seven seasons in its history, the last time coming in 2019.
