Soccer Plays to a 1-1 Draw With No. 12 OSU

Sunday, September 28

Boulder, Colo.

1 p.m.

Colorado

8-1-2, 2-0-1Big 12

Oklahoma State

9-0-1, 1-0-1Big 12

OT 3

OT 4

Oklahoma State

Colorado

Photo by: Boulder Daily Camera

September 28, 2008 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Allie Musso, Assistant SID

BOULDER - The No. 18 University of Colorado women's soccer team played to a 1-1 tie with No. 12 Oklahoma State after a 110 minute battle here Sunday afternoon.

"We're dealing with a different level of play," said head coach Bill Hempen. "It was a battle up until the last stretch, they put a lot of pressure on us and we did the same. That's a great team we played and it's obvious that we had our chances, but today just wasn't the day."

Oklahoma State (8-0-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) got on the board first, when midfielder Annika Niemeier sent a high cross into the Colorado goal box and Yolanda Odenyo extended up and headed the ball into the upper right corner of the goal for the lead, just under seven minutes into the game.

The Cowgirls' lead would be short-lived, however, as Colorado (8-1-2, 2-0-1 Big 12) responded with a goal of its own less than three minutes later. Freshman midfielder Kate Russell sent a hard ball on the ground across the goal to junior forward Nikki Marshall. Marshall took the initial shot which was saved, but senior Gianna DeSaverio followed up the deflection and put the ball in the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

"Once we would work our way into a shot opportunity we would be under a lot of pressure from their defense; none of our shots were wide open," said DeSaverio. "Sometimes you don't finish and sometimes you do; but to be successful in these games, we need to finish."

The goal marked DeSaverio's fifth goal on the year and her third in two games as she scored twice in Friday's 5-0 win over Oklahoma.

"After they scored, the fact that we answered so quickly with a goal of our own says a lot," said Hempen. "After our goal, their goalie took over and made some fantastic saves, so hats off to her."

The Buffs wrapped up the first half outshooting the Cowgirls 11 to eight and CU had four shots on goal to OSU's three.

Colorado came out hard in the second half, pressuring the Cowgirl defense and creating a number of opportunities from the start.

The Buffs nearly took the lead less than one minute after the whistle was blown when Marshall carried the ball from the left wing into the OSU box. Marshall was taken down by a defender and the Buffs were awarded a penalty kick. Senior Alex Cousins stepped up to take the kick, and hit a hard shot to the left side of the goal, but Oklahoma State goalkeeper Erin Stigler made a diving save to her right in order to preserve the tie.

With both teams scoreless in the second half, the game remained a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation, forcing the two teams into overtime.

Colorado almost ended the game just one minute in as Marshall deflected an OSU defender's attempt to clear the ball. The ball found the feet of DeSaverio, who slid in to take the shot, but she missed just wide of the net.

After two overtime periods, the game would finish in a 1-1 tie. The Buffaloes ended the game dominating the offensive statistics, outshooting the Cowgirls 37-15. CU had seven shots in overtime while OSU only managed to get three. Colorado took 13 shots on goal, forcing the Oklahoma State goalkeeper to make 12 saves in the match, while CU's Kirstin Radlinski racked up six.

"We knew what we had to do and we stayed organized throughout most of the game," said senior defender Michelle Wenino. "The intensity level definitely rose once they scored, so it was a very hard- played match."

Marshall, who was absent from Friday's match in order to fulfill her U-20 National Team duties, led all Buffaloes with 10 shots.

"I feel so bad for our players," said Hempen. "They played very hard and didn't want to stop. They did a good job and I always ask them to leave it all on the field, and they definitely did that today."

Colorado will now hit the road as they travel to Missouri on Friday, Oct. 3 and Kansas on Sunday, Oct. 5 to continue Big 12 play.

"We've been in these situations before," said Wenino. "It's such an adrenaline rush. We worked hard and wanted to go all out, and we did. This is a tough conference and the intensity level is different than any of our newcomers have ever experienced. The Big 12 is always hard, but if we can win some games on the road and take care of our big games at home, then we'll be fine."