Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Head To Lone Star State For Crucial Games
October 20, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Oct. 20, 2010
#5 Oklahoma State (14-1-1, 7-0-0)
at Texas (10-3-3, 3-2-2)
Friday, Oct. 22 • 7 p.m.
Myers Stadium (20,000)
...
vs. #6 Texas A&M (13-3-0, 6-1-0)
Sunday, Oct. 24 • 1:30 p.m.
Aggie Soccer Stadium (3,500)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 14-1-1 overall and atop the Big 12 Conference standings after a 7-0-0 start to league play. OSU enters the weekend on a 13-game unbeaten streak (12 wins, one tie), and with their strong performance and a nucleus of proven veterans that has led the program to back-to-back Big 12 championships, the Cowgirls have achieved their highest-ever national ranking at No. 5. OSU is also sixth in the official NCAA RPI standings.
The Cowgirls return to action Friday with a 7 p.m. match at Texas before closing out the weekend with a Sunday showdown at No. 6 Texas A&M for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. Stakes are high as OSU can clinch a Big 12 regular season championship with two wins. The Cowgirls can finish no worse than third in the conference standings, and if they win any of their final three games, they are guaranteed of a top-two finish.
The Cowgirls returned eight starters in 2010 from a squad that went 15-7-2 a year ago, won a Big 12 Soccer Championship title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship for the fourth consecutive year. OSU returned a trio of All-Big 12 First Team performers -- senior midfielder Annika Niemeier, junior defender Melinda Mercado and sophomore goalie AD Franch -- but Niemeier was lost for the rest of the '10 season after suffering a knee injury at Oregon in OSU's second game of the year.
Colin Carmichael is in his sixth season as OSU's head coach. The Cowgirls have a .750 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled an 88-24-16 record during his tenure.
The Opponents
Texas sports a 10-3-3 record on the season and is fifth in the Big 12 standings with a 3-2-2 mark. The Cowgirls are 6-8-3 all time against UT but are 2-0-2 in the last four meetings (2007-09).
Texas A&M occupies the second spot in the Big 12 standings with a 6-1-0 record and entered the week with a 13-3-0 overall mark prior to Friday's game vs. Oklahoma. OSU is just 1-14-2 all time against the Aggies, but the Cowgirls won the last meeting, which came in the title game of last year's Big 12 Soccer Championship.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Live stats via Game Tracker can be accessed for both games at www.okstate.com by clicking on the Schedule/Results link. A free webcast with audio is available for Friday's game at Texas at www.texassports.com/allaccess, while fans can listen to a live audio broadcast of Sunday's match at www.aggieathletics.com.
Back-to-Back Champs
Oklahoma State has won back-to-back Big 12 Conference championships and has captured three conference titles in the last seven seasons -- two tournament (2003, '09) and one regular season (2008).
The Cowgirls entered the 2009 conference tourney as the fifth seed and proceeded to knock off fourth-seeded Nebraska, top-seeded Missouri and second-seeded Texas A&M en route to the title. OSU lost to each of those teams during the regular season, and the 1-0 win over Texas A&M was the first victory over the Aggies in program history.
In 2008, OSU set a school record with 18 wins, finishing 18-1-4, and won the first regular season Big 12 championship in school history by finishing league play with a 7-1-2 mark.
OSU won the 2003 tourney title by defeating Missouri in double overtime, a win that gave the Cowgirls their first-ever NCAA Women's Soccer Championship appearance.
Becoming A Trend
OSU has earned a berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in each of the last four years and has made five tourney appearances in the program's 14-year history.
OSU has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for four-straight years and are 3-2-4 all-time in the tourney.
High Five
For the second-straight week, OSU is No. 5 in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com poll, which marks the program's highest-ever national ranking. The Cowgirls' previous-best national ranking was No. 7, which they had reached three times (2006, 2008 and 2010).
In November 2008, OSU entered the NCAA Soccer Championship with a No. 7 ranking. The Cowgirls also climbed as high as the seventh spot in the polls in 2006.
This season marked the fourth straight that OSU was nationally ranked in the preseason polls as the Cowgirls were as high as No. 19 in the Soccer America preseason poll.
In 2007, OSU began and ended the season in the national rankings, the first time that had happened in its history. The Cowgirls ended the season ranked as high as 17th.
The '07 season came on the heels of a 2006 campaign that saw OSU achieve its highest national ranking ever and earn a spot in the final national polls for the first time in the program's history.
Four And Six
OSU's .906 winning percentage ranks fourth nationally, and the Cowgirls are sixth in the latest official NCAA RPI standings.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2010 senior class (A. Leggett, Niemeier, Richardson, Thompson, Wernimont) currently ranks as the 12th-winningest senior class in the country. Over the last three-plus seasons (2007-pres.), the Cowgirls have compiled a 61-15-10 record (.767). Among Big 12 schools, only Texas A&M, with 64, has more wins than OSU during that span.
Streaking
Oklahoma State enters the week on a 13-game unbeaten streak (12 wins, 1 tie), which ties a school record. The 2003 Cowgirls also went 13 games without a loss, compiling an 11-0-2 mark during that stretch.
OSU entered the 2010 season on a 10-game unbeaten streak and extended it to 12 with wins in their first two outings before the sneak was snapped with a 1-0 loss at Portland. The Cowgirls were 10-0-2 during the unbeaten streak as they won their final five regular season games in 2009, then went 3-0 at the Big 12 Soccer Championship before being credited with a pair of ties in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.
The Defense Never Rests
One of the biggest reasons for OSU's success over the last several seasons is defenses that have been among the best in the Big 12 Conference.
That trend continues in 2010 as the Cowgirls have allowed just 11 goals and sport a 0.67 goals against average, both totals that lead the conference. They rank third in the league with eight shutouts
Last season, OSU set school records with 14 shutouts and a 0.65 goals against average, and the Cowgirls' 16 goals allowed tied the school mark. OSU led the Big 12 in all three categories.
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).
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).
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.
Balanced Attack
OSU ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 37 goals on the season. While junior Krista Lopez leads the way and ranks second in the league with 12 goals, the Cowgirls have had nine different players find the back of the net.
In addition, five other players have notched assists, giving OSU 14 players who have recorded points in 2010.
Dominant Defender
Junior Melinda Mercado has established herself as one of college soccer's top defenders in her first three seasons as a Cowgirl.
During Mercado's two-plus seasons in Stillwater, she has started all 62 of the games she has played in and anchored defenses that have racked up 32 shutouts.
A native of Sapulpa, Okla., "Minnie" started every game at defender for OSU in 2008 and was a key part of a defense that recorded 10 shutouts and allowed just 18 goals.
Mercado's stellar play did not go unnoticed as she earned third-team Freshman All-America honors from Soccer Buzz and a spot on the Big 12 All-Newcomer team.
Following the season, Mercado joined the OSU basketball team and appeared in 29 games on the hardwood for the Cowgirls. It was her only season to play collegiate hoops.
The spring of '08 was also highlighted by Mercado's participation in the U.S. Soccer Under-20 Women's National Team Domestic Training Camp in April.
There was no sophomore slump for Mercado as she anchored an OSU defense that set a school record for shutouts in '09. She was named All-Big 12 First Team and was the Defensive MVP at the Big 12 Soccer Championship.
They Shoot, They Score
Helping lead the scoring attack for OSU in 2010 are forwards Megan Marchesano, Katie Richardson and Kyndall Treadwell, a trio that has combined for 41 goals and 28 assists in their careers.
With 18 goals and 13 assists, Richardson ranks 10th on OSU's career charts in goals and points and 11th in assists. Following a two-game performance in which she had three goals and an assist in wins over Colorado and Nebraska, the senior earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors.
Treadwell has notched 14 goals and 12 assists in just over two years for the Cowgirls, while Marchesano recorded four goals as a freshman last season and has five goals and three assists in 2010.
4x4x4x4
• With four shutouts, AD Franch would break OSU's career record and also surpass her own single-season shutout record.
• OSU is four wins shy of its the highest single-season total in school history.
• Krista Lopez needs four goals to tie for the most in a single-season in OSU history.
