Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Open 2010 Season Against Bedlam Rival
August 19, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Aug. 19, 2010
#19 Oklahoma State
vs. Oklahoma
Friday, Aug. 20 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State opens the 2010 season with a showdown against Bedlam-rival Oklahoma Friday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex in Stillwater. The game will be the first of two Bedlam matchups this season and is classified as a non-conference game. The two teams will square off in a Big 12 Conference match on Oct. 29 in Norman.
OSU returns 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. The Cowgirls return three All-Big 12 First Team performers in senior midfielder Annika Niemeier, junior defender Melinda Mercado and sophomore goalie AD Franch.
With a strong nucleus returning to a program that has won back-to-back conference championships, OSU enters the season ranked as high as No. 19 nationally.
Colin Carmichael is entering his sixth season as OSU's head coach. The Cowgirls have a .728 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled a 74-23-15 record over the last five years.
The Bedlam Series
Oklahoma State is 12-2-1 all time against Oklahoma, and the Cowgirls have won five-straight meetings against the Sooners. OSU won last year's contest by a 3-0 margin in Stillwater.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow Friday's match can do so in a variety of ways. Live stats via Game Tracker can be accessed at www.okstate.com by clicking on the Schedule/Results link. Fans who subscribe to OKState.TV All-Access through okstate.com can watch a live webcast (with radio audio) of the match. Stillwater Radio will also air Friday's match live on KGFY 105.5 FM.
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.
The Cowgirls have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for four-straight years and are 3-2-4 all-time in the tourney.
Becoming A Trend, Part II
For the fourth-straight season, Oklahoma State is nationally ranked in the preseason polls, earning a spot as high as No. 19 in the Soccer America poll.
In 2007, the Cowgirls began and finished the season in the national rankings, the first time that has happened in OSU soccer 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 -- No. 7 -- and earn a spot in the final national polls for the first time in the program's history.
Four Real
Over the last four seasons (2006-09), OSU compiled a 64-17-10 record (.758). The 64 wins tied for the 12th most by any NCAA Division I program during that span. Among Big 12 Conference teams, only Texas A&M, with 68, had more wins during that span.
Streaking
Oklahoma State enters the 2010 season on a 10-game unbeaten streak. The Cowgirls are 8-0-2 during that span 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 school record for consecutive games without a loss is 13, which was set during the 2003 season.
Three's Company
Three OSU players -- midfielder Annika Niemeier, defender Melinda Mercado and goalie AD Franch -- were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team in a vote of the league's head coaches.
OSU's three preseason All-Big 12 picks is tied with Texas A&M for the most in the league.
Hermann Watch
For the fourth-straight year, OSU has placed a player on the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List.
In 2010, there are two Cowgirls on that list -- Annika Niemeier and AD Franch. OSU is one of 10 schools with multiple players on the 45-player list.
The Hermann Trophy is considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer.
This year's duo joins Yolanda Odenyo (2007 and 2008) and Kasey Langdon (2009) as Cowgirls to appear on the Hermann Trophy Watch List. Odenyo was one of 15 semifinalists for the award in '08.
The Defense Never Rests
One of the biggest reasons for OSU's increased success over the last several seasons is defenses that have been among the best in the Big 12 Conference.
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).
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.
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).
Importing Offense
Junior Annika Niemeier led the Cowgirls and tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 11 goals last season. The German recorded seven game-winning goals, a total which led the league.
With 20 career goals, Niemeier enters her senior season ranked eighth on OSU's all-time list, and she is tied for seventh with 14 career assists.
In 2009, Niemeier led OSU with 11 points in league play as she recorded four goals and three assists against Big 12 Conference foes. Three of those goals were game winners.
During OSU's eight-game winning streak late in the season, Niemeier racked up seven goals and three assists.
Dominant Defender
Melinda Mercado has established herself as one of college soccer's top defenders in her first two seasons as a Cowgirl.
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.
AD
A big reason for OSU's staunch defense a year ago was the play of freshman goalie Adrianna "AD" Franch. All she did was lead the Big 12 with 11 shutouts, a 0.61 goals against average and an .843 save percentage.
To put Franch's rookie season in perspective, consider these: OSU's previous record for shutouts by a freshman was two by Bettina Grossman in 2005. The previous school record for goals against average by a freshman was 1.37, set by Breanna Truelove in 2004.
Franch, who collected 75 saves on the season, earned All-Big 12 and NSCAA All-Central Region First Team honors and was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.
Over OSU's last 10 games of the 2009 season, during which the Cowgirls went 8-0-2, Franch allowed just four goals. She was also named to the All-Tournament Team after recording a pair of shutouts at the Big 12 Soccer Championship, including a seven-save effort in a 1-0 triumph over Texas A&M in the title game.
More On AD
A native of Salina, Kan., Franch 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 was the best ever in a season at OSU. Erin Stigler's 0.71 mark in 2006 was the previous best.
• With 11 shutouts, Franch already ranks third on OSU's career shutouts list. Stigler owns the all-time mark with 21.
• Franch has recorded 75 saves, which ranks sixth on OSU's career list.
