Gantzer's goal lifts OSU past S.D. State

STILL WATER—Claire Gantzer jubilantly raised her arms and embraced teammate Megan Haines.

Gantzer, a senior defender on the Oklahoma State soccer team, had just ended the scoreless tie at Neal Patterson Stadium.

She gave the Cowgirls the lone goal they needed to edge South Dakota State 1-0 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament. Third-seeded OSU advanced to the second round, in which it will face either Santa Clara or California.

After substituting for junior defender Hannah Web bin t he 64th minute, Gantzer quickly made an impact. In the 69th minute, freshman Olyvia Dowell made a cross to Gantzer, who stepped up in the left side of the box. Gantzer blasted the ball to the right of goalkeeper Maggie Smither and into the net for her second goal of the season, prompting the celebration with Haines.

“I was excited,” Gantzer said. “But I mostly was just thinking, `Please don't miss,' because that would have been really bad. I kind of ran all the way up there and didn't catch my breath until the end of the game because I have not ran that hard that much in a long time.”

OSU (16-2-3) shut out an opponent for the 10th time this season. Junior goalkeeper Dani Greenlee recorded three saves, and in the 80th minute, OSU junior midfielder Camy Huddleston ki c ked Rachel Preston's shot away from the goal for a team save.

Four of SDSU's 1 0 s hots were on goal, and OSU had six shots on goal out of 16.

The Cowgirls and Jackrabbits (15-5-2) tried to create early opportunities, but they couldn't convert.

In the 10 th m in ute,Ja ci Jones attempted OSU's first shot, but it flew above the goal. About two minutes later, Gabriella Coleman took a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. The Cowgirls had three shots on goal in the first half, but Smither answered with a save each time.

Smither finished with five saves, but she couldn't stop Gantzer in the second period.

With the victory, the Cowgirls are 10-0-1 at Neal Patterson Stadium this season, and they have a small hope of playing at home one more time this year. If second- seeded USC loses to CSU Fullerton on Saturday, then the winner of the Santa Clara versus Cal game will take on the Cowgirls in Stillwater. Otherwise, USC will be a second-round host.

“We didn't play our best, but we fought and we gutted it out ,” OSU coach Colin Carmichael said. “We're just thankful to be one of the teams that's gonna advance to the next round and be in the last 32.”