Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Ready For Big 12 Action
September 22, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sept. 22, 2010
#12 Oklahoma State (7-1-1)
vs. Baylor (7-1-1)
Friday, Sept. 24 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
...
vs. Texas Tech (7-2-0)
Sunday, Sept. 26 • 1 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 7-1-1 on the season, and the Cowgirls open Big 12 Conference play this weekend in Stillwater. OSU enters the weekend on a six-game unbeaten streak (five wins, one tie), and with its strong start and a nucleus of proven veterans that has led the program to back-to-back Big 12 championships, the Cowgirls are currently ranked as high as 12th nationally.
OSU opens league play Friday at 7 p.m. against Baylor at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex before taking on Texas Tech Sunday at 2 p.m.
OSU 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. The Cowgirls 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 last month.
Colin Carmichael is in his sixth season as OSU's head coach. The Cowgirls have a .736 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled a 81-24-16 record during his tenure.
The Opponents
Baylor sports a 7-1-1 record on the season and brings a five-game unbeaten streak (four wins, one tie) into Friday's match. OSU is 7-5-2 all time against BU and has not lost to the Bears since 2001, compiling a 7-0-1 record since a 2001 loss in Waco.
Texas Tech entered the week with a 7-2-0 record prior to its Big 12 opener at Oklahoma. The Cowgirls are 9-5-1 all time against the Red Raiders and have won three-straight meetings in the series.
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 at www.okstate.com by clicking on the Schedule/Results link, and fans who subscribe to OKState.TV All-Access through okstate.com can watch a live webcast (with radio audio) of both games. Stillwater Radio will also air a tape-delayed broadcast of Friday's match on KGFY 105.5 FM following high school football, while Sunday's match will be carried live on KSPI 780 AM.
Becoming A Trend, Part II
For the fourth-straight season, Oklahoma State was nationally ranked in the preseason polls, earning a spot as high as No. 19 in the Soccer America poll. OSU has continued to climb up the rankings and has reached as high as 12th in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com 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.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2010 senior class (A. Leggett, Niemeier, Richardson, Thompson, Wernimont) currently ranks as the 11th winningest senior class in the country. Over the last three-plus seasons (2007-pres.), the Cowgirls have compiled a 53-15-10 record (.744). Among Big 12 schools, only Texas A&M, with 58, has more wins than OSU during that span.
Streaking
Oklahoma State 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.
OSU enters the weekend on another unbeaten streak, this one now standing at six games (five wins, one tie).
The school record for consecutive games without a loss is 13, which was set during the 2003 season.
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 five goals and sport a 0.53 goals against average, both totals that rank third in the 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).
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 third in the Big 12 with 20 goals on the season. While junior Krista Lopez leads the way with a league-high seven goals, the Cowgirls have had seven different players find the back of the net.
In addition, five other players have notched assists, giving OSU 12 players who have recorded points in 2010.
More On AD
There has been no sophomore slump for AD Franch in 2010.
Through OSU's first nine games, Franch ranks in the top 10 nationally in goals against average (0.35) and save percentage (.917), and she has recorded four 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 15 shutouts, Franch already ranks second on OSU's career shutouts list. Stigler owns the all-time mark with 21.
• Franch has recorded 108 saves, which ranks fourth on OSU's career list.
Lopez Adds To Resumé
Junior Krista Lopez picked up a pair of awards for her performances in wins over Memphis and Murray State earlier this month.
A forward/midfielder for the Cowgirls, Lopez was named a CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer of the Week for Week #3 and also earned the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week award for games played from Sept. 3-6.
In leading OSU to a pair of wins, Lopez netted three goals on the weekend, including the game winner against 13th-ranked Memphis in a 2-1 win on Friday.
On Sunday, Lopez notched the first multi-goal game of her career with two goals against Murray State in a 4-2 win.
Lopez has not slowed down since. She is tied for the Big 12 lead with seven goals and three game-winning goals, and she ranks in the top five in the league in shots and 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.
