Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Set To Defend Title
November 01, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Nov. 1, 2010
#2-Seed Oklahoma State (15-3-1)
at the Big 12 Soccer Championship
Nov. 3, 5 & 7 • San Antonio, Texas
Blossom Soccer Stadium (2,600)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 15-3-1 overall and finished second in the Big 12 Conference standings with an 8-2-0 league record. The Cowgirls begin defense of their Big 12 Soccer Championship title Wednesday when they open conference tourney play against Texas Tech at 8 p.m. at San Antonio's Blossom Soccer Stadium.
With its strong performances in 2010 and a nucleus of proven veterans that has led the program to back-to-back Big 12 championships, OSU achieved its highest-ever national ranking at No. 5 last month. The Cowgirls are currently ranked 11th and are also 11th in the official NCAA RPI standings.
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 .740 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled an 89-26-16 record during his tenure.
Cowgirls At The Big 12 Soccer Championship
OSU is one of five teams to win a Big 12 Conference postseason tournament championship, joining Missouri, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Texas. The Cowgirls won tourney titles in 2003 (3-2 double overtime triumph vs. Missouri) and 2008 (1-0 over Texas A&M) and are 9-3-2 all time at the Big 12 Soccer Championship.
The Cowgirls are 6-2-0 this season against teams in the Big 12 Championship field. OSU's all-time records against the teams in San Antonio are: Texas Tech (10-5-1); Missouri (7-9-1); Nebraska (6-10-0); Texas (6-9-3); Oklahoma (14-2-1); Texas A&M (1-15-2); and Colorado (4-10-2).
Should OSU win its opening match against TTU, the Cowgirls would advance to Friday's semifinals to face the winner of No. 3-seed Nebraska and No. 6-seed Missouri. The title match is scheduled for Sunday at noon.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow the matches at the Big 12 Soccer Championship can do so via the league website at www.big12sports.com. Free live webcasts, as well as live stats, are available for each match. OSU's games will also be carried by Stillwater Radio on KGFY 105.5 FM. The Fox Sports regional networks will televise Sunday's championship match.
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.
High Five
In back-to-back weeks in October, OSU was ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com poll, marking 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 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.
Among The Nation's Best
OSU is 11th in the latest official NCAA RPI standings, and the Cowgirls' .816 winning percentage ranks in the top 15 nationally.
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 62-17-10 record (.753). Among Big 12 schools, only Texas A&M, with 66, has more wins than OSU during that span.
Streakers
Oklahoma State is coming off a recent 13-game unbeaten streak (12 wins, 1 tie), which tied 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 13 goals and sport a 0.67 goals against average, both totals that lead the conference. They rank third in the league with nine 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 39 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 65 of the games she has played in and anchored defenses that have racked up 33 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.
More On AD
There has been no sophomore slump for AD Franch in 2010.
Through 19 games, Franch ranks among the nation's best in goals against average (0.59) and save percentage (.861), and she is tied for the Big 12 lead with eight shutouts.
The Salina, Kan. native already owns several OSU records and is on the verge of adding to that list. Among them:
• Franch holds the OSU record for most shutouts in a season with 11.
• Franch's goals against average of 0.61 in 2009 was the best ever in a season at OSU. Erin Stigler's 0.71 mark in 2006 was the previous best.
• With 19 shutouts, Franch already ranks second on OSU's career shutouts list. Stigler owns the all-time mark with 21.
• Franch has recorded 143 saves, which ranks fourth on OSU's career list.
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 43 goals and 29 assists in their careers.
With 19 goals and 13 assists, Richardson ranks ninth 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 13 assists in almost three seasons for the Cowgirls, while Marchesano has six goals and three assists in 2010 after recording four goals as a freshman last season.
3x3x3x4
• With three shutouts, AD Franch would break OSU's career record and also tie her own single-season shutout record.
• OSU is three 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.
