Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Close Out Big 12 Play At Home
October 21, 2009 | Cowgirl Soccer
Oklahoma State (9-7-0, 3-5-0)
vs. Oklahoma (7-9-1, 2-6-0)
Friday, Oct. 23 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
...
vs. Baylor (7-4-4, 3-3-2)
Sunday, Oct. 25 • 1 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State returns home to the Cowgirl Soccer Complex for its final two Big 12 Conference matches of the season this weekend. OSU will battle Bedlam rival Oklahoma Friday night before a Sunday afternoon showdown against Baylor. The Cowgirls enter the weekend in eighth place in the Big 12 standings with a 3-5-0 league record. Coach Colin Carmichael's squad is 9-7-0 overall and has won its last two matches.
OSU, which has suffered six of its seven losses this season by one goal, has outscored its opponents 31-13 on the season, and 11 different players have collected goals. Annika Niemeier leads the scoring attack with seven goals, while four Cowgirls have recorded four goals apiece. Freshman goalkeeper AD Franch leads the Big 12 with six shutouts.
Oklahoma
The Sooners are 8-6-1 overall and sport a 2-6-0 record in Big 12 play. OSU leads the all-time series with Oklahoma by an 11-2-1 margin. The Cowgirls have won four in a row over OU, including last season's 4-2 win in Norman that clinched OSU's Big 12 championship.
Players To Watch: F Whitney Palmer, MF Dria Hampton
Baylor
The Bears are 7-4-4 overall and in a three-way tie for fourth in the Big 12 standings with a 3-2-2 mark. OSU leads the all-time series with Baylor by an 6-5-2 count, which includes a 5-0 win last season in Waco.
Players To Watch: GK Gianna Quintanna, MF Lotto Smith
On The Air & The Web
Both games this weekend will be carried by Stillwater Radio with Bill Van Ness calling the action. Friday's game will be tape delayed on KGFY 105.5 FM (live broadcast via www.okstate.com), while Sunday's airs live on KSPI 780 AM. Links to the radio broadcasts, as well as GameTracker live stats, can also be accessed via the internet at the official OSU Athletics website: www.okstate.com. Those links can be found under the Schedule/Results link on the soccer home page.
Think Pink
OSU will be wearing special pink jerseys for Sunday's match against Baylor to support awareness of and the fight against breast cancer.
The pink jerseys will be auctioned off during OSU's season finale against Utah on Oct. 29, with all proceeds going to fund the research and treatment of breast cancer.
The Defense Never Rests
One of the biggest reasons for OSU's increased success over the last several seasons are defenses that have been among the best in the Big 12 Conference.
Sixteen games into the 2009 season, OSU leads the Big 12 with eight shutouts. The Cowgirls have allowed just 13 goals and sport a 0.81 goals against average, both of which also lead the league.
In 2008, OSU allowed just 18 goals and recorded 10 shutouts. The Cowgirls ranked third in the Big 12 in goals allowed and goals against average (0.75).
The Cowgirls tied a school record with 12 shutouts in '06, and that total also tied OSU for the most blankings by a Big 12 team. Opponents attempted just 255 shots against the Cowgirls and only 16 of those found the back of the net. OSU ranked first in the league in goals allowed, and its 0.66 goals against average was also tops in the conference.
OSU recorded 10 shutouts in 2007, which once again tied for the most in the Big 12, and the Cowgirls ranked among the conference's best in goals allowed (20), goals-against average (0.84) and save percentage (82.1).
Records Are Made To Be Broken
A pair of Cowgirls are climbing the OSU career charts and are on the verge of vaulting to the top of several of those lists.
• Siera Strawser has 30 career goals and needs five to reach OSU's all-time mark, which is held by Yolanda Odenyo and Jolene Schweitzer.
• Strawser is OSU's career leader in shots with 262.
• With 17 career assists, Strawser needs just two more to move into the top five on OSU's all-time list.
• Kasey Langdon needs just one assist to move into second all time at OSU. Langdon has racked up 24 assists in her first three seasons in Stillwater.
• Langdon has 23 career goals, leaving her only one shy of moving into the top five on the Cowgirls' career list.
• Strawser and Langdon rank fourth and sixth on OSU's all-time scoring list with 77 and 70 points. Odenyo's 90 points top the list.
Importing Offense
Junior Annika Niemeier leads the Cowgirls with seven goals, four of those game winners. The German also leads the squad in scoring with 16 points and is tied for third with two assists.
With 16 career goals, Niemeier is tied for 10th on OSU's all-time list, and she is only one assist shy of moving into the top 10 at the school in that category.
Fabulous Freshmen
OSU leads the Big 12 with eight shutouts, a 0.81 goals against average and 13 goals allowed.
A big reason for OSU's staunch defense is a pair of freshmen -- goalie AD Franch and defender Carson Michalowski. Franch leads the Big 12 with six shutouts a 0.74 goals against average. Franch is poised to shatter the OSU record for season GAA by a freshman (min. 900 minutes), which is held by Breanna Truelove (1.37 GAA in 2004). Michalowski has started every game at defender in her first season in Stillwater.
Freshman Megan Marchesano is also tied for second on the team lead in goals with four.
