Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Square Off Against Duke In Sweet 16
November 17, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Nov. 17, 2010
#3-Seed Oklahoma State (19-3-2)
vs. Duke (11-7-4)
at the 2010 NCAA Soccer Championship
Nov. 19 • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 19-3-2 overall and will be making the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship Sweet 16 when head coach Colin Carmichael's squad hosts Duke at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex Friday at 7 p.m.
A No. 3 national seed, the Cowgirls advanced to the round of 16 by opening the tourney with wins over Michigan and Oregon State. OSU enters the Duke contest on a six-match unbeaten streak (5 wins, 1 tie)
A strong nucleus of proven stars that includes five All-Big 12 performers has helped OSU record a school record for single-season wins, claim a third-straight Big 12 Conference championship and reach the program's highest-ever national ranking, which at No. 5 last month. The Cowgirls entered NCAA play ranked No. 6.
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.
Carmichael is in his sixth season as OSU's head coach. The Cowgirls have a .746 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled an 93-26-17 record during his tenure.
Cowgirls And Blue Devils At The NCAA Soccer Championship
Oklahoma State is making its fifth consecutive NCAA Women's Soccer Championship appearance and the sixth in the program's 15-year history. Prior to this year's Sweet 16 berth, the Cowgirls had advanced to the second round of the tourney in each of the previous four seasons. OSU is 5-2-4 all time in NCAA tourney play.
Duke (11-7-4) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years by opening the tournament with a 2-1 win over Cal and then winning a penalty kick shootout over No. 2 national seed Florida in round two. The Blue Devils are making the 17th NCAA appearance in program history and are 17-14-6 all time.
The OSU-Duke winner will advance to next week's NCAA quarterfinals to face the winner of North Carolina and Notre Dame.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow Friday's match can do so in a variety of ways. A free live webcast is available at www.okstate.com, while live stats are also available at okstate.com as well as ncaa.com. The match will also be carried live by Stillwater Radio and will air on KSPI 93.7 FM.
Three-Peat
Oklahoma State has won three consecutive Big 12 Conference championships and has captured four conference titles in the last eight seasons -- three tournament (2003, '09, '10) and one regular season (2008).
The Cowgirls won this year's conference tourney as the No. 2 seed, winning a PK shootout over rival Oklahoma in the finals.
OSU 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. The 1-0 win over TAMU was the Cowgirls' first-ever victory over the Aggies.
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.
How Sweet (16) It Is
OSU is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship Sweet 16 after four-straight years of seeing its season end in the second round.
The Cowgirls opened tourney play with a 2-1 win over Michigan before besting Oregon State by an identical score in round two.
High Five
In back-to-back weeks in October, OSU was ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA 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.
Trendy
OSU has earned a berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in each of the last five years and has made six tourney appearances in the program's 15-year history.
The Cowgirls have advanced to at least the second round of the tourney each of the last five years and are 5-2-4 all time in NCAA play.
Home Sweet Home
OSU is 11-0-0 at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex in 2010, and the Cowgirls are 29-2-0 on their home field over the last three years.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2010 senior class (A. Leggett, Niemeier, Richardson, Thompson, Wernimont) currently ranks as the 10th-winningest senior class in the country. Over the last three-plus seasons (2007-pres.), the Cowgirls have compiled a 66-17-11 record (.761). The 66 wins are tied with Texas A&M for the most among Big 12 schools during that span.
Streakers
From Sept. 3-Oct. 22, Oklahoma State recorded a 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.
Five Stars
OSU had five players earn 2010 All-Big 12 honors, including a league-high four named first-team all-conference.
Defender Melinda Mercado and goalie AD Franch were each named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second-straight year, while forwards Krista Lopez and Kyndall Treadwell earned that distinction for the first time in their careers. In addition, Mercado garnered Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
Defender Carson Michalowski was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
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 sport a conference-best 0.71 goals against average and rank third in the league with nine shutouts while allowing just 19 goals in 24 games.
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 leads the Big 12 with 50 goals on the season. While junior Krista Lopez leads the way and ranks second in the league with 14 goals, the Cowgirls have had 11 different players find the back of the net.
In addition, five other players have notched assists, giving OSU 16 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 career in Stillwater, she has started all 70 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 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.
It's been more of the same in 2010. Mercado was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year to go along with repeating as an All-Big 12 first teamer and Defensive MVP of the conference tourney.
More On AD
There has been no sophomore slump for AD Franch in 2010.
Through 24 games, Franch ranks among the nation's best in goals against average (0.71) and save percentage (.833), 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 160 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 46 goals and 32 assists in their careers.
With 19 goals and 15 assists, Richardson ranks ninth on OSU's career charts in goals and points and seventh 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 16 goals and 13 assists in three seasons for the Cowgirls, while Marchesano has seven goals and four assists in 2010 after recording four goals as a freshman last season.
Lopez Adds To Resumé
Junior Krista Lopez' outstanding play this season has been rewarded by several outlets.
Along with being named an All-Big 12 First Team forward, Lopez has been named a CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer of the Week, the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week and to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.
Lopez' first honors came after she led OSU to wins over 13th-ranked Memphis and Murray State. She netted three goals that weekend, getting the game winner vs. Memphis then notching the first multi-goal game of her career with two goals against Murray State.
Lopez has not slowed down since. She ranks second in the Big 12 and 12th nationally with 14 goals, which is also the third-most goals in a single season in OSU history. Her seven game-winning goals lead the league, and she is third with 32 points.
Against Mississippi State, Lopez became just the 10th different OSU player to record a hat trick as she recorded three goals. It marked only the 14th time in program history a player has collected three goals in a game.
To The Victors Go The Spoils
Following its title at the 2010 Big 12 Soccer Championship, OSU had four players named to the All-Tournament Team as AD Franch, Kristen Kelley, Krista Lopez and Melinda Mercado each earned that distinction.
Mercado was named the tourney's Defensive MVP for the second-straight year.
It's Academic
OSU's success on the pitch has carried over to the classroom. OSU had a program-record 13 players named to the 2010 Academic All-Big 12 First Team. The Cowgirls also earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the ninth-straight year.
