Tech, No. 12 OSU, set for Sunday showdown in Stillwater

STILLWATER, Okla. – Riding an 19-match Big 12 Conference unbeaten streak, Texas Tech Soccer begins a critical three-match road swing on Sunday afternoon with a clash against No. 12 Oklahoma. First touch from Neal Patterson Stadium is set for 1 p.m.

Riding high after an impressive 2-0 win over Utah on Thursday night that featured a pair of clutch goals from Skylar Haase and Chloe Soto, the Red Raiders will look to win in Stillwater for the first time since the 2018 season.

That winless streak however features just one loss, a 2-1 OT setback to the Cowgirls in 2020, and two 1-1 draws in both 2021 and 2022.

Tech enters Sunday's key showdown with No. 12 OSU, tied for fifth in the Big 12 standings and sitting on four total points. The Cowgirls, who conceded a goal for the first time in 2024 in Thursday's 2-1 loss to No. 21 Colorado, enter the match sitting on three points.

Sunday's 1 p.m. match will be live streamed on ESPN+.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
MATCHUP: Texas Tech (6-2-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) at No. 12 Oklahoma State (8-1-1, 1-1-0 Big 12)
LOCATION: Stillwater, Okla. (Neal Patterson Stadium)
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 2024
TIME: 1 p.m.

QUICK KICKS:
• With a Big 12 victory over Utah under their belts and sitting on four total points, Texas Tech hits the road for the start of a three-game road trip Sunday afternoon when their travels take them Stillwater for a Sunday afternoon date with No. 12 OSU.
• Riding a four-match unbeaten streak against the Cowgirls, Tech will seek to win in Stillwater for the first time since 2018 when the Red Raiders downed OSU 1-0.
• Through the first two matches of conference play, the Red Raiders sit tied for fifth with TCU after 20 percent of conference play.
• Despite sitting with four points (which should be good for a tie for third), the Red Raiders sit tied for fifth in the up-to-date Big 12 standings, due to Thursday's no-contest between Iowa State and UCF.
• That match was deemed a no-contest after lighting and severe weather forced the cancelation of the match in the 67th-minute with the score deadlocked at zero.
• By virtue of the no contest, the Big 12 Conference has now turned to a "points-per-match" format, meaning the standings will be calculated by taking a team's total points and dividing by the numbers of matches played.
• With Thursday's win over Utah, the Red Raiders enter Sunday's matchup with the Cowgirls riding a trio of impressive streaks. The first streak is an overall Big 12 unbeaten streak of 19 consecutive matches (15-0-4). That streak is the longest amongst power conference programs in the nation.
• The second key streak that the Red Raiders will take into Sunday match and the next three road matches is an 18-match home winning streak.
• That streak like the 19-match Big 12 unbeaten dates back to a Sept. 25, 2022 loss against Texas.
• The third and final streak that Tech will take into Sunday's contest is an 11-match road Big 12 unbeaten streak that dates back to a 2-0 loss at WVU (Oct. 17, 2021). The streak started ironically enough with a draw in Stillwater against the Pokes, back on Sept. 29, 2022.

LAST TIME OUT:
Riding an 18-match conference unbeaten streak and a 17-match home winning streak, Texas Tech Soccer downed new Big 12 foe Utah, 2-0, Thursday night at the John Walker Soccer Complex to extend both streaks and earn the first Big 12 victory of the season.

Seeking their first Big 12 win of the season after the scoreless draw at TCU last week, Texas Tech (6-2-1, 1-0-1 Big 12) got a pair of goals just two minutes and 32 seconds apart to close out the key victory.

As she has all season, goalkeeper Faith Nguyen was solid for the Red Raiders, as the keeper made three saves to earn her fourth victory of the season.

By virtue of tonight's 2-0 win, the Red Raiders now improve to a perfect 6-0-0 at Walker this season and have outscored opponents 25-1 at Walker this season.

The Red Raiders by winning tonight extended their unbeaten Big 12 streak to 19 (14-0-5). The Red Raiders now have the fifth-longest conference unbeaten streak in the country (Brown – 29; Xavier – 28; Georgetown – 20 ; St. Louis – 20) and the longest Power-Four (ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and SEC) unbeaten conference streak in the country.

Despite dominating play early and enjoying a 6-2 shot count early, the Red Raiders and Utes (4-3-2, 1-1-0 Big 12) went to halftime in a scoreless tie.

The Red Raiders best chance to score in the first half came in the 28th minute when a perfect free kick service from Macy Blackburn skidded toward the Utes goal. After a deflection off a Utah defender fell right to Cassie Taylor, the center-back lifted a shot that went over the Utes goal.

Right before the end of the first half, Haase ripped a shot on goal, but Utah's Kasey Wardle saved it. The chance by Haase was the final of the first half. Wardle made five saves in the match.

In the 48th minute, Blackburn ripped another strong free kick service that narrowly missed the top of the goal and sailed high.

After a header from Utah's leading scorer Taliana Kaufusi clanged off the post and was saved by Nguyen, the Red Raiders nearly scored the first goal of the night on a pair of shots from Kate Leibel and Haase just nine seconds into the 62nd minute and 47 seconds into the 62nd minute.

Knocking on the door all night, Haase finally kicked the door down in the 70th minute when she ripped a right-footed shot from 25-yards out that sailed into the top-left corner of the net and past Wardle.

With the key first goal on the board, the Red Raiders quickly doubled their lead midway through the 73rd minute when sophomore Chloe Soto took a perfect pass from Kaitlyn Giametta and ripped a shot that Wardle was able to get a piece of.

Despite the goalkeeper making the initial save, Soto did not abandon the play, as she headed home the rebound for the key second goal of the night.

Armed with a 2-0 lead, the Red Raiders salted away the final 17 minutes of play, to close out the victory.

Based on the results from Thursday's action, the Red Raiders end the night in a tie with TCU for third place in the Big 12 standings. No. 21 Colorado who defeated No. 12 OSU on Thursday (2-1) and West Virginia (2-0 winners vs. K-State) sit tied atop the Big 12 standings with six total points.

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders continue the three-match road trip on Thursday night with a matchup at Kansas State. First touch from Manhattan is set for 7 p.m.

Tech, No. 12 OSU, set for Sunday showdown in Stillwater

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Players Mentioned

Macy Blackburn

Kaitlyn Giametta

Skylar Haase

Kate Leibel

Faith Nguyen

Chloe Soto

Cassie Taylor