Oklahoma State University Athletics
Eighth-Ranked Cowgirls Look To Extend Streak
September 29, 2010 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sept. 29, 2010
#8 Oklahoma State (9-1-1, 2-0-0)
at Missouri (3-4-2, 1-0-0)
Friday, Oct. 1 • 6:30 p.m.
Audrey J. Walton Complex (2,500)
...
vs. Iowa State (6-3-2, 1-0-0)
Sunday, Oct. 3 • Noon
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State is 9-1-1 overall and atop the Big 12 Conference standings after a 2-0-0 start to league play. OSU enters the weekend on an eight-game unbeaten streak (seven 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 are currently ranked as high as No. 8 nationally.
OSU returns to action Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Missouri in Columbia before hosting Iowa State Sunday at noon at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex (please note the 12 p.m. start time).
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 .740 winning percentage under Carmichael, having compiled a 83-24-16 record during his tenure.
The Opponents
Missouri sports a 3-4-2 record on the season and opened Big 12 play with a 4-1 win last Friday against Kansas. OSU is 6-9-1 all time against Mizzou. The Cowgirls split with MU last season, dropping a 3-2 contest in Columbia in September and then avenging that loss by knocking off the top-seeded Tigers in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship, 3-2.
Iowa State entered the week with a 6-3-2 overall mark and was 1-0-0 in league play prior to a Friday game at Oklahoma. OSU is 5-7-2 all time against ISU and suffered a 2-1 loss a year ago in Ames.
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 Sunday's game. Stillwater Radio will also air Sunday's match live on KSPI 780 AM.
Moving Up The Ranks
OSU is No. 8 in this week's NSCAA/HendrickCars.com poll, just one spot shy of the program's highest-ever national ranking.
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, the Cowgirls began and finished the season in the national rankings, the first time that had 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 56-15-10 record (.753). Among Big 12 schools, only Texas A&M, with 59, 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 eight games (seven 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 six goals and sport a 0.53 goals against average, both totals that lead 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 24 goals on the season. While junior Krista Lopez leads the way and ranks second in the league with nine goals, the Cowgirls have had eight different players find the back of the net.
In addition, five other players have notched assists, giving OSU 13 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 11 games, Franch ranks in the top 10 nationally in goals against average (0.37) and save percentage (.909), and she has recorded five 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 16 shutouts, Franch already ranks second on OSU's career shutouts list. Stigler owns the all-time mark with 21.
• Franch has recorded 115 saves, which ranks fourth on OSU's career list.
They Shoot, They Score
Helping to lead the scoring attack for OSU in 2010 are forwards Kyndall Treadwell and Katie Richardson, a duo that has combined for 29 goals and 22 assists during their careers.
A senior, Richardson has 15 goals and 11 assists during her time in Stillwater, while Treadwell has notched 14 goals and 11 assists in just over two years for the Cowgirls.
Sophomore Megan Marchesano recorded four goals a year ago and has two goals and an assist in 2010.
Lopez Adds To Resumé
Junior Krista Lopez' outstanding play this season has been rewarded by several outlets.
A forward/midfielder, 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, beginning with the game winner against Memphis. She then 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 ranks second in the Big 12 and ninth nationally with nine goals, and her four game-winning goals lead the conference. She also ranks in the top four 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.
