On a chilly, blustery night in Stillwater, Okla., the Michigan women’s soccer team’s season came to a close, as the Wolverines lost 2-1 to Oklahoma State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. But, there were many signs of what is to come for this team in the next few years.

Sparked by talented young players, the Wolverines scored first in the affair, as freshman forward Nkem Ezurike created an opportunity for fellow freshman Tori McCombs, who knocked in a goal to give Michigan the lead in the 23rd minute.

“(Michigan coach) Greg (Ryan) has been talking about pressuring all year, and when Nkem brought it up the side and pressured, which is when the goalie came out, she hit it out and I got the rebound off of her. I guess it was just a result of pressuring her,” McCombs said after the game.

Despite the early goal for Michigan (5-3-2 Big Ten, 10-5-4 overall), Oklahoma State’s defense stepped up and thwarted any promising opportunities for the Wolverines. But the Wolverines kept consistent pressure on the Cowgirl defense — most notably from freshman midfielder Meghan Toohey.

The key for the Oklahoma State side was minimizing the impact of Ezurike — she led Michigan in scoring with nine goals and was named to the All-Big Ten second team and All-Big Ten freshman team earlier in the week. Ezurike’s ball-handling skills were on display for most of the game, but the Cowgirls (8-2 Big 12, 18-3-2) turned many promising chances away.

“Nkem really was too much for them to handle,” Ryan said. “We just didn’t get enough support up top to help her.”

The young talent of the Wolverines was prevalent throughout the season as Ezurike, McCombs and Toohey — along with sophomore forward Clare Stachel — combined for 19 of the team’s 26 goals and helped the team advance to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006.

“The freshmen really showed what we’ve been lacking on this team: those good, attacking players,” Ryan said. “This freshman class has really helped fulfill that need.”

Michigan will look to continue the program's upward trend with Ryan at the helm, after graduating five seniors. And an even bigger role will be given to these freshmen next season.

“When you have a team that has a majority of its attackers in their freshman and sophomore years, it bodes well for the future,” Ryan said.

The future leaders of the team, this core group of young freshmen and sophomores, will use this season's successful template as young players are forced to step up more and more.

“We want to be as good of a class as the seniors and other girls on the field were to us,” McCombs said. “They welcomed us so well and we all meshed well together. It just really made us better as a team.”

Although this season’s final outcome wasn’t the desired one for the Wolverines, it provided the team with a base for seasons to come and gave invaluable experience to the future leaders of this team. And since they return the majority of their players next season, Michigan’s future looks promising.

“We lose some really good talent, but bring back talent, too,” McCombs said. “Hopefully next year, we’ll just continue to improve.”