Where Oklahoma State Soccer Has Improved Three Games into Big 12 Play

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls dropped their second straight Big 12 match on Sunday, this time to the Houston Cougars.

But wrapped within that 1-0 loss is an improvement that Oklahoma State has made over its play against power conference opponents earlier this season.

It's worth noting as the Cowgirls (5-4-2, 1-2-0 in Big 12) continue their Big 12 schedule as they try to return to the Big 12 Tournament later this season.

How OSU Lost — But Has Improved

Pregaming in H-Town#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/9JcUME5tSx
— OSU Cowgirl Soccer (@CowgirlFC) September 27, 2026

Houston scored the only goal of the match in the 41st minute as Skylar Miller fired a goal past Oklahoma State keeper Avery Bass in the bottom center of the net. Morgan Donohue and Peyton Machado were credited with assists.

Oklahoma State’s improvement has been noticeable on defense and in goal. The Cowgirls may be 1-2-0 in Big 12 play but after three matches, they've scored four goals and they've allowed four goals. That's a contrast from non-conference, where Oklahoma State’s only two power conference opponents were Oklahoma and Mississippi State. In those two losses Oklahoma State was outscored 6-1.

While Oklahoma State has made adjustments defensively it's clear that Houston has finally found its footing in Big 12 play and that’s part of the reason the Cougars 7-1-3 (3-0-0) were able to win and remain undefeated in Big 12 action.

Beating Oklahoma State was just the program’s third Big 12 win ever. Houston had not won three straight conference games since 2021 when they were in the American Conference. Sunday’s win was also the Cougars’ seventh shutout of the season.

While Oklahoma State has already won more games than a year ago, losing back-to-back matches for the first time since August is a bit disheartening. But, the defensive improvement shows the progress this team has made since those losses to OU and Mississippi State.

Avery Bass had three stops in goal for OSU. The Cowgirls took seven shots but didn’t have a shot on goal.

The Cowgirls get nearly a week off to prep for their next game, which will be at home on Friday against Arizona. OSU has another home game on Oct. 8 against Texas Tech.

The Cowgirls have never beaten the Wildcats in three tries but none of those matchups have been since Arizona joined the Big 12. OSU has a 16-11-7 record against Texas Tech but lost their last matchup in 2025, 4-0. OSU is 9-3-3 at home against Texas Tech.

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