Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Soccer Opens Preseason Practice
August 06, 2009 | Cowgirl Soccer
Aug. 6, 2009
STILLWATER, Okla. — Defending Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma State opened preseason practice Thursday, with 28 players reporting to head coach Colin Carmichael's squad.
OSU will practice twice a day for nine days before opening the 2009 season with an exhibition match against Tulsa Aug. 15 in Stillwater. The Cowgirls open the regular season against Colorado in Boulder on Aug. 22.
“This is an exciting time for us with everyone back on campus and getting ready to start the season and defend our Big 12 championship,” said Carmichael, who is entering his fifth season as OSU's head coach. “Our biggest focus over the next week or so is acclimating our newcomers to what we expect here and getting our returners back into the competitive mode they were in last season.
“We focus a lot on the shape of our defense in the preseason, and then once we get a preseason game under our belt we'll shift our concentration to our attacking.”
OSU is coming off the best season in school history, which saw them finish 18-1-4 and capture its first-ever Big 12 regular season championship. The Cowgirls, who climbed to as high as No. 7 in the national polls, reached the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship for the third consecutive season and finished the season ranked 13th nationally.
The 2009 Cowgirls return seven starters from a year ago, including first-team All-Big 12 forward Kasey Langdon and fellow senior and all-conference midfielder Siera Strawser. That duo combined for 24 goals and 21 assists last season for a squad that led the nation in scoring offense and set a school record with 74 goals.
Also returning are all-region performer Bridget Miller and Freshman All-American Melinda Mercado, both of whom star for the Cowgirls at defender.
“We've got a talented group coming back, with seven starters and about 15 kids who played a lot of minutes,” Carmichael said. “We've got high expectations for this group, and our goals are to compete for another Big 12 championship and get in the NCAA Tournament and go as far as we can.”
