No. 4 West Virginia used a pair of second half goals to defeat No. 5 Oklahoma State 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Round Rock, Texas, on Sunday.
The Mountaineers controlled play for much of the first half, but were unable to find any success.
West Virginia’s Lily McCarthy had a clean look at the goal, but shot it over the net at the 7:17 mark of the first half, and then Julianne Vallerand had a shot that sailed over the net as well at the 16:42 mark of the first half.
Chloe Adler was recorded one of West Virginia’s three shots on goal in the first half, but Oklahoma State goalkeeper Jordan Nytes made a diving save. The first half saw West Virginia record three shots on goal, and out-shoot the Cowgirls 6-1.
In the second half, the Mountaineers’ pressure almost allowed them to score early. AJ Rodruguez would try to deflect a pass into the net, but Nytes would come up big again for the Cowgirls. Minutes later, Lauren Segalla would attempt a header off a corner kick, but it would go over the top of the goal as well.
Oklahoma State would have their best chance of the game come at the 58:41 mark, with Megain Haines shooting it strongly, but West Virginia goalkeeper Kayza Massey made a diving stop to her left.
West Virginia would breakthrough on a second chance at a header from Segalla. Dilary Heredia-Beltran fired in a corner kick and Segalla would beat Nytes to put West Virginia ahead 1-0 in the 65th minute.
West Virginia would double their lead in the 84th minute, with Jordan Brewster scoring on a penalty kick.
Oklahoma State did not go down without a fight though, as Olyvia St. Dowell was able to beat Massey to her right in the 85th minute. Massey got a hand on the ball, but was unable to fully control it as Oklahoma State put the score at 2-1.
The Mountaineers would ultimately hang on and now advance to the semifinals to face No. 1 Texas.
West Virginia ended the match with 11 shots, including seven shots on goal, while Oklahoma State had four total shots and three total shots on goal.
The Mountaineers and Longhorns will kickoff at 5:30 on Thursday, and the match will be televised on ESPN+.
Photo by Tyler Prusina, Blue Gold Sports
