As the final seconds drained down to zero, Oklahoma State rushed to midfield and celebrated the program’s first Big 12 championship in Friday night’s 4-2 victory over the OU soccer team.

With the win, OSU (16-1-2, 7-1-12) extended its winning streak against the Sooners (3-15-1, 2-7-1) to four and climbs to 11-2-1 all-time in the Ford Bedlam Series.

The loss officially knocked OU out of the playoff picture, making it the second consecutive season the team has not made the Big 12 tournament.

The first half could only be described as an intense ride on the playground teeter-totter as each team fought for every little inch and control.

Momentum swung early in OU’s favor when forward Jordan White sailed a shot over the head of a wandering OSU goal keeper and into the back left corner of the net during the ninth minute to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead.

Forward Ashley Farrand was credited with first assist of the year.

White’s goal was her second of the season and her first since her game-winner against Ball State on Aug. 31.

The Cowgirls struck back at the 24:57 mark when forward Kyndall Treadwell went top-shelf over goal keeper Traci Dickenson on a shot that looked as though it would sail over the net.

OSU took the momentum and the first lead of the game with 7:39 left in the first half when Cowgirls midfielder Annika Niemeier took the lead on a penalty kick after OU defender Claire West committed a penalty inside the box.

Niemeier’s goal was her third off a penalty kick and her sixth overall.

To keep with the spirit of the back-and-forth theme of the first half, Sooners defender Kelsey Kraft scored a late-minute goal off a free kick by midfielder Sage Coralli.

“It was huge for us not only to score first and to come out with that confidence and to hold on to that for a while, but to get that goal after being down 2-1 is huge,” OU head coach Nicole Nelson said.

The late goal was Kraft’s second of the season and her first since the season opener against Colorado College.

OSU took complete control during the final 45 minutes as it kept the Sooners in its defensive zone for the majority of the final frame.

Nelson said the biggest difference between the two halves was that OSU’s leading scorer, forward Yolanda Odenyo, sat out during the first and played during the second, causing the Sooners to change their defensive attack.

Siera Strawser put the Cowgirls up for good when she snuck a shot between the pipes during the 50th minute.

Defender Melinda Mercado capped off scoring for the night and secured the Big 12 title during the 59th minute as she deflected a wandering ball coming out of traffic from point-blank range.

“What you saw after those two goals was us not having the confidence to go out and get two more, but that’s coming,” Nelson said.

One of the Sooners’ main focuses was to play the full length of the game hard and midfielder Katie Corbitt said the team accomplished that Friday night.

“We played hard for the total 90 minutes,” Corbitt said. “OSU is a great team, ranked ninth in the nation. But yeah, there were times we could have stepped up, but as a whole it was a really good game. We left everything on the field.”

Friday’s finale marked the final game for seniors Corbitt and Dickenson as they were honored during pregame and had their numbers stenciled in at midfield.

Nelson said the two seniors were key components to the development of the younger players and she is thankful for what they did during the season.

“They’ve been a tremendous class for us,” Nelson said. “So, I’m thankful that we’ve had them.”

Corbitt’s four year career ended after 75 games and 64 starts, which ties her for eighth and ninth respectively on OU’s all-time records.

“It’s hard knowing that this could possibly be your last game, but we went out and gave it everything we had,” Corbitt said. “It was the best way of going out.”

Dickenson, who played defense during her first three years at OU, started the final seven games of the 2008 in goal and recorded a 2-3-1 record.

Dickenson said she was not a big fan of having the spotlight on her, but she was thankful for everything her team and the entire program did to celebrate her final game.

With the 2008 season reaching its final chapter, Nelson said she saw progression during the final third following the 10-game losing streak.

“This last segment was our best part of the season,” Nelson said. “Without question we have something to build on, we have laid a foundation to move forward with.”