Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Open Big 12 Play
September 21, 2011 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sept. 21, 2011
#2 Oklahoma State (11-0-0)
vs. Kansas (6-3-0)
Friday, Sept. 23 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
...
vs. Missouri (8-2-0)
Sunday, Sept. 25 • 1 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
OSU is one of only three undefeated and untied teams remaining at the NCAA Division I level in 2011 (along with Memphis and Wofford), and the Cowgirls bring an 11-0-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking, its highest ever, into Big 12 Conference play this week. The Cowgirls open league play at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex as they host Kansas Friday at 7 p.m. before a Sunday showdown against Missouri at 1 p.m. OSU has outscored its opponents by a 27-3 margin this season and is 7-0 on its home field.
In 2011, the Cowgirls return 10 of their 11 starters from last season, and six All-Big 12 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 seniors Krista Lopez and Kyndall Treadwell.
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 60 victories and won more than 80 percent of its matches.
OSU entered 2011 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
Kansas is 6-3-0 on the season and is led by the Big 12's third-leading scorer in freshman Ingrid Vidal (6 goals, 4 assists). OSU is 7-7-3 all time against Kansas and has not lost to the Jayhawks since 2005 (5-0-1). The Cowgirls have won the last four meetings against KU.
Missouri entered the week with an 8-2-0 record prior to Friday's Big 12 opener at Texas Tech. OSU is 7-9-1 all time vs. the Tigers and has won the last two matchups.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Live webcasts with audio of each match are available at www.okstate.com (a fee is involved with this feature), while live stats can also be accessed at okstate.com. The matches will also be carried by Stillwater Radio; Friday's match will air tape delayed (following high school football) on KGFY 105.5 FM and Sunday's will air live 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.
Moving On Up
For the second consecutive week, OSU is ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire poll, which matches the Cowgirls' highest-ever national ranking.
The Cowgirls' previous high ranking was No. 4, which they reached on Sept. 6. They have now been ranked in the top five for four-straight weeks.
OSU is also currently ranked 3rd by Soccer America and SoccerTimes.com and 5th by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Home Sweet Home
OSU is 7-0-0 in 2011 at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. The Cowgirls sport a 37-3-0 record on their home field since 2008.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2011 senior class (Brown, DeLozier, Dougherty, Lopez, Mercado, Niemeier and Treadwell) is the fifth-winningest senior class in the nation. Over the last three-plus years, the Cowgirls own a 64-12-8 (.810) record. The 64 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 -- not to mention their eight in 11 games this season.
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) and are currently second in the league with 27 goals this season.
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
With the win over Creighton earlier this month, OSU head coach Colin Carmichael notched his 100th career victory. In his seventh season at the helm, Carmichael sports a career mark of 105-27-17 (.762).
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.
Broken Record
Junior goalkeeper AD Franch set OSU's career shutouts record against Oklahoma, notching her 22nd shutout in just her 51st career game. Erin Stigler, whose record Franch broke, had 21 shutouts in 64 games from 2005-08.
Franch led the Big 12 in shutouts in each of her first two collegiate seasons, setting an OSU record with 11 as a freshman and then recording nine a year ago.
Broken Record, Pt. II
Krista Lopez set a pair of OSU records in the win over UALR. She recorded four goals against the Trojans to become the first Cowgirl in history to score four goals in a single game. Lopez broke the previous mark of three, which she held with nine other players. Lopez, who was the first Big 12 player to record four goals in a match since 2009, also set OSU's single-game record by collecting eight points.
Lopez notched the hat trick with three goals in the opening half against the Trojans, then added her record-setting fourth just over five minutes into the second half.
With seven goals this season, Lopez has moved into fifth place all time at OSU with 26 career goals, and she ranks seventh on the Cowgirls' career points list with 63.
Four Score
Seniors Annika Niemeier, Krista Lopez and Kyndall Treadwell, along with junior Megan Marchesano, have combined for 79 goals and 50 assists during their careers.
Both Niemeier and Lopez rank among the top 10 on OSU's career goals and points lists, while Niemeier and Treadwell are in the top 10 in career assists.
Balanced Attack
The Cowgirls have recorded 27 goals by 11 different players in 2011, and 10 different players have notched assists.
Statistically Speaking
At this point of the 2011 season, OSU is at or near the top in numerous Big 12 statistical categories. The Cowgirls lead the league in shutouts (8), goals allowed (3), goals against average (0.27) and corner kicks (80) and are second in goals (27), assists (22), points (76), shots (210) and saves (40).
Individually, Krista Lopez leads the Big 12 with three game-winning goals and is second with seven goals. AD Franch sits atop the league stats in goals against average (0.21) and save percentage (.941),and Rosa Medina ranks second in shutouts (4), goals against average (0.32) and save percentage (.917).
In the NCAA stats, OSU ranks in the top 10 nationally in goals against average, shutout percentage and save percentage, and Medina ranks in the top nine in goals against average and save percentage.
11
OSU set a school record for consecutive wins to open a season when it earned its 11th-straight victory last week vs. Utah State. The previous record was 10, which the Cowgirls achieved in 2002 and 2003. The 2003 squad started the season on a 13-match unbeaten streak (11-0-2) to mark the best-ever unbeaten start for an OSU team.
The OSU record for consecutive games without a loss is 13, which the Cowgirls have reached twice -- in a 2010 stretch when they went 12-0-1 and the 13-game span to open the 2003 season.
