Oklahoma State University Athletics
Bedlam And Hogs On Tap For Cowgirls
August 24, 2011 | Cowgirl Soccer
Aug. 24, 2011
OSU Game Notes - OU & Arkansas
#6 Oklahoma State (2-0-0)
vs. Oklahoma (1-1-0)
Friday, Aug. 26 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
...
at Arkansas (1-1-0)
Sunday, Aug. 28 • 1 p.m.
Razorback Field (1,500)
Oklahoma State
OSU returns to action this weekend with matches at home and on the road. First up, the Cowgirls will host rival Oklahoma Friday night in the first 2011 meeting in The Oklahoma Farm Bureau Bedlam Series, a match that is considered a non-conference affair. OSU then travels to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on Arkansas Sunday at 1 p.m.
In 2011, the Cowgirls return 10 of their 11 starters from last season, and six All-Big 12 Conference performers are back on the pitch. All-Americans Melinda Mercado and AD Franch anchor one of the nation's top defenses, while the Cowgirls also return five of their top six goal scorers from a year ago, led by senior Krista Lopez and her 19 career goals.
The 2011 Cowgirls return a strong nucleus of proven veterans. OSU has won three-straight Big 12 championships, and every returning player on the roster has been a part of an NCAA Women's Soccer Championship team as head coach Colin Carmichael's squad has made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The senior class is seven players strong, and that group has combined for over 50 victories and won nearly 80 percent of its matches.
OSU enters the season as the team to beat in the Big 12 as the Cowgirls were the coaches' preseason pick to finish atop the league standings and placed four players on the preseason all-conference team.
The Opponents
Oklahoma is 1-1-0 on the season, with a win over UAB and a loss to Tennessee. OSU is 14-2-2 all time against the Sooners and is on an eight-match unbeaten streak against its Bedlam rival during which the Cowgirls are 7-0-1.
Arkansas is also 1-1-0 in 2011. The Cowgirls have won their only three meetings against the Hogs, the last of those coming in 2002 in Fayetteville.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Friday's match will be televised live by the Cowboy Sports Network with Chad McKee and former OSU All-American Yolanda Odenyo calling the action. It will air on Cox Cable Channel 703 (HD) and Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa and on Metro Sports in Kansas City. Replays of the match will also air on Stillwater TV31 Saturday at 10 a.m. and Monday at 8 p.m. Live stats and live audio for both matches can be accessed at www.okstate.com. Both matches will also be carried live by Stillwater Radio; Friday's match will air on KGFY 105.5 FM and Sunday's on KSPI 780 AM.
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, including a march to the Elite Eight in 2010, and are 6-3-4 all time in NCAA play.
Three-Peat -- Why Not Four?!
OSU 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).
And for the first-time ever, the Cowgirls are the preseason favorites to repeat as champs as the league coaches picked them to win the title. OSU received six of nine first-place votes.
High Five -- and Six
OSU ended the 2010 season ranked No. 5 in the final NSCAA poll, marking their highest-ever national ranking.
The Cowgirls are currently ranked as high as No. 6 by Soccer America. OSU is also ranked 10th by SoccerTimes.com, 11th by the NSCAA and 16th by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Home Sweet Home
OSU opened the 2011 season with two wins at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. The Cowgirls sport a 32-3-0 record on their home field since 2008.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2011 senior class (Brown, DeLozier, Dougherty, Lopez, Mercado, Niemeier and Treadwell) is the eighth-winningest senior class in the nation. Over the last three-plus years, the Cowgirls own a 55-12-8 (.787) record. The 55 wins are the most among Big 12 schools during that span.
Hermann Watch
For the fifth-straight year, OSU placed a player on the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List as senior defender Melinda Mercado and junior goalie AD Franch both made the 42-player list.
The Hermann Trophy is considered the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer.
Four Stars
OSU had four players named to the 2011 Preseason All-Big 12 Team -- forwards Krista Lopez and Kyndall Treadwell, defender Melinda Mercado and goalie AD Franch. Each of those players earned All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2010.
Shutouts and Scores
OSU has established itself as one of the top defensive programs in the country. The Cowgirls have led the Big 12 in shutouts in four of the last five seasons (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010), and they recorded 56 shutouts in 119 games during that span.
The Cowgirls don't just thrive on defense. They've also led the Big 12 in goals scored in two of the last three seasons (74 in '08 and 52 in '10).
Making History
OSU is coming off a 2010 season that saw it embark on a magical postseason run as the Cowgirls captured their second-straight Big 12 Soccer Championship title before their deepest-ever NCAA tourney run, during which they advanced to the Elite Eight. OSU finished the season with a 20-4-2 record, which included an 8-2-0 mark and second-place finish in the always tough Big 12 Conference.
Century Mark
Head coach Colin Carmichael is just four wins shy of 100 for his career. In his seventh year at the helm, Carmichael sports a career mark of 96-27-17.
Karen Hancock, now a Cowgirl assistant, served as OSU's first-ever head coach and was 110-89-19 in 11 seasons.
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, and the Cowgirls also earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the ninth-straight year.
Krista Lopez was named an Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine and the NSCAA in 2010, and the Cowgirl forward is one of 30 candidates for the prestigious 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
