The Cowgirls will look to exact some revenge when Texas Tech visits Stillwater at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. The Cowgirls lost to the Red Raiders in Lubbock last season 1-0.
The Cowgirls are looking to continue their undefeated season as they open conference play against Texas Tech on Friday at The Cowgirl Soccer Complex.
So far the team has looked great outscoring its opponents 35-5 and registering four shutouts through eight games.
On paper, the Cowgirls look like the stronger team, but Coach Colin Carmichael said this will be the toughest game they have seen this season.
Last year Tech pulled out an upset victory against the Cowgirls with a 1-0 win when they scored a late goal in the second half.
In 2006, the Cowgirls clinched a tie after scoring the equalizing goal with less than seven minutes left in regulation.
The tie cost the Cowgirls a Big 12 Championship.
This year the team has a personal vendetta to settle with Tech.
“I think this year’s team wants it a lot more,” senior goalkeeper Erin Stigler said. “We have nine starters coming back, and most all of us played last year and the year before.
“I don’t think Tech realizes how much we want to beat them, but we’ve been talking about this game since preseason.”
The previous games were played in Lubbock on a field about 10 yards narrower and shorter than what the Cowgirls normally play on.
Carmichael said Tech is a team that likes to keep the game compact with tight marking and the shorter field played to their advantage.
The Cowgirls are a team that likes to spread the field and attack their opponents with precision passing.
“Anytime you go down to Tech it’s tough to play because they have a small field inside a track and it makes a difference,” senior All-American Yolanda Odenyo said.
“That’s why most teams who are better than them on paper and should be beating them have trouble going there.
“It’s definitely in our benefit, not just being home, but playing on our big field.”
Carmichael used only half the field for practice Tuesday to get the girls ready for a tight, fast-paced game.
He said to win Friday, the team needs to play its own game, but the women need to be ready for Tech’s scrappy play.
“We need to spread the field when we have the ball and maximize our strengths, which is one on one play and quick passing,” Carmichael said. “Tech will probably want it to be a scrappy, very tight, feisty affair.”
Carmichael said this year’s Tech team should be better than previous years because they have more talent and will be more organized now that coach Tom Stone is in his second year and has had time to settle in.
Stone was hired two months before Tech’s first game in 2007, but the team managed to qualify for the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 1999.
“We expect a tough game,” Carmichael said. “They’re a good team and their coaching staff does a great job.
“They’ll come in here playing the number 11 team in the country trying to pull the upset. It’s going to be a great game.”
OSU vs. Texas Tech at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex Friday at 7 p.m
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