Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Picked Fourth, Three Make All-Big 12
August 12, 2009 | Cowgirl Soccer
Aug. 12, 2009
IRVING, Texas -- Oklahoma State, the defending conference champion, was picked to finish fourth in the 2009 Big 12 Conference soccer race, and the Cowgirls placed three players on the preseason All-Big 12 team, it was announced today by the league office.
Texas A&M and Missouri tied for the top spot in the preseason poll, with each collecting 91 points. The Aggies earned six first-place votes, while Missouri garnered four. The final first-place vote went to OSU.
Following Texas A&M and Missouri was Colorado, which earned 76 points. OSU notched 68 points, just ahead of Texas, who was in the fifth spot with 66 points.
OSU captured its first-ever Big 12 regular season championship in 2008 after finishing 7-1-2 in league play. The Cowgirls were 18-1-4 overall last season and return seven starters from that squad.
A trio of Cowgirls were honored as preseason All-Big 12 players, with seniors Kasey Langdon and Siera Strawser and sophomore Melinda Mercado earning that recognition. OSU tied Missouri for the second-highest number of All-Big 12 selections, with TAMU placing four on the team.
Langdon, a native of Wylie, Texas, earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors at forward last season after finishing second on the OSU squad in scoring with 36 points. She led the Big 12 with 14 assists and ranked third in the conference with 11 goals.
A native of Bixby, Okla., Strawser was a second-team All-Big 12 pick a year ago. A midfielder, she ranked second in the league with 13 goals, which marked the third-highest single-season total in school history, and also notched seven assists. Strawser enters the 2009 season fourth on OSU's career goals list.
Mercado, who is from Sapulpa, Okla., earned Freshman All-America honors and was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer team last season after starting all 23 games at defender for the Cowgirls. She was a key part of an OSU defensive corps that recorded 10 shutouts and allowed just 18 goals.
The preseason poll and preseason All-Big 12 team were voted on by the league's head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own team or players.
2009 Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses; Coaches not allowed to vote for their own team or players)
Team (1st place votes) |
Points |
| Texas A&M (6) | 91 |
| Missouri (4) | 91 |
| Colorado | 76 |
| Oklahoma State (1) | 68 |
| Texas | 66 |
| Kansas | 59 |
| Nebraska | 53 |
| Texas Tech | 39 |
| Oklahoma | 28 |
| Baylor | 20 |
| Iowa State | 14 |
2009 Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer Team
(Note: Ties in the voting created additional positions on the preseason team)
Pos. |
Athlete |
School |
Year |
| GK | Ann Gleason | Iowa State | Sr. |
| GK | Kristin Arnold | Texas A&M | Jr. |
| GK | Kelly Dyer | Texas A&M | Jr. |
| D | Caroline Danneberg | Colorado | So. |
| D | Crystal Wagner | Missouri | Sr. |
| D | Carly Peetz | Nebraska | Sr. |
| D | Melinda Mercado | Oklahoma State | So. |
| D | Erica Campbell | Texas | Jr. |
| D | Bri Young | Texas A&M | So. |
| MF | Meghan Pfeiffer | Missouri | Sr. |
| MF | Siera Strawser | Oklahoma State | Sr. |
| MF | Beth West | Texas A&M | So. |
| F | Nikki Marshall | Colorado | Sr. |
| F | Kristin Andrighetto | Missouri | Sr. |
| F | Whitney Palmer | Oklahoma | Jr. |
| F | Kasey Langdon | Oklahoma State | Sr. |
