Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Back In Action This Weekend
September 12, 2012 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sept. 12, 2012
OSU Game Notes - North Texas & Fresno State
#7 Oklahoma State (7-1-0)
vs. North Texas (5-1-1)
Friday, Sept. 14 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
...
vs. Fresno State (0-4-3)
Sunday, Sept. 16 • Noon
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
OSU returns to the Cowgirl Soccer Complex this weekend for its final two non-conference matches prior to the start of Big 12 Conference play. The seventh-ranked Cowgirls are 7-1-0 on the season and host North Texas Friday at 7 p.m. before a Sunday showdown with Fresno State at noon.
The Cowgirls are coming off the best season in school history after going 22-2-2 a year ago, along the way setting a school record for wins, advancing to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the second-straight year and winning a fourth consecutive Big 12 Conference championship.
In 2012, OSU returns six starters from last season, led by a senior trio that includes All-American AD Franch and All-Big 12 performers Carson Michalowski and Megan Marchesano. This year's senior class is five players strong, and that group has won over 80 percent of its games.
OSU is the preseason favorite to repeat as Big 12 regular season champions, and the Cowgirls will be looking for their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012.
The Opponents
North Texas opened the season with five-straight wins and is now 5-1-1 on the season. OSU is 0-2-0 all time against the Mean Green, losing 3-1 in Denton, Texas, in 1998 and dropping a 4-2 contest in Stillwater the following year.
Fresno State entered a Friday match at Texas with an 0-4-3 mark. Sunday will mark the first-ever match between the Bulldogs and Cowgirls.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. A live webcast of Friday's match can be accessed at www.okstate.com (a fee is involved with this feature), while a live webcast with audio is available for Sunday's match. The Fresno State contest will be carried live by Stillwater Radio and airs on KGFY 105.5 FM. Live stats for both games can also be accessed at okstate.com (link is under Schedule).
Big 12's Best
OSU was selected by the Big 12's coaches -- as well as several other outlets -- as the favorite to repeat as conference champions in 2012. The Cowgirls have won four consecutive Big 12 titles and has captured five conference championships in the last nine seasons -- three tournament (2003, '09, '10) and two regular season (2008, '11).
OSU finished the 2011 regular season 17-0-2, joining the 1996 Nebraska team as the only Big 12 Conference teams in history to go unbeaten during the regular season.
The Cowgirls went 6-0-2 in conference play to claim their second regular-season Big 12 title, and in doing so they became the first Big 12 team since Texas A&M in 2002 to complete the league schedule without a loss.
Much Respect
The Cowgirls were ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire preseason poll, which marks the highest preseason ranking in program history. After moving up two spots to No. 3 and holding that ranking for two weeks, OSU fell to No. 7 this week. OSU is also ranked in the top 10 by several other outlets this week -- No. 7 by TopDrawerSoccer.com and College Sports Madness and No. 9 by Soccer America.
With this week's polls, OSU extended its string of consecutive weeks in the national rankings to 33, a program-record streak that dates back to the 2010 preseason, but the Cowgirls did have a record streak of 16-straight weeks being ranked in the top five of the NSCAA poll come to an end. They were ranked in the top five for the final 12 weeks in 2011, including a span of eight weeks in which they held the No. 2 spot.
OSU was ranked No. 5 in the final 2011 NSCAA poll, which marked the second-straight year the Cowgirls finished fifth in the final national rankings.
Seniors Rule
OSU's 2012 senior class (Franch, Gray, Kippenberger, Marchesano and Michalowski) is the second-winningest senior class in the nation. Over the last three-plus years, the Cowgirls own a 64-14-6 (.798) record. The next closest senior class win total from the Big 12 is West Virginia with 47.
Stanford's senior class leads the way with a 77-3-4 mark.
Second To One
With its 49-7-4 record since 2010, OSU owns the second-most wins in the nation over the last two-plus seasons. The Cowgirls' win total trails only Stanford, which is 52-2-4 over the span.
Making History
OSU is coming off a record-setting 2011 season in which the Cowgirls captured the second regular season Big 12 championship in program history before advancing to the NCAA Championship Elite Eight for the second-straight year. OSU finished the season with a 22-2-2 record, which included an 8-2-0 conference mark. The 22 wins is a school record.
Century Mark
With the win over Creighton on Sept. 2, 2011, OSU head coach Colin Carmichael notched his 100th career victory. In his eighth season at the helm, Carmichael sports a career mark of 123-30-19 (.770).
Karen Hancock, now a Cowgirl assistant, served as OSU's first-ever head coach and was 110-89-19 in 11 seasons.
21 & 15
OSU set a program record with a 21-match unbeaten streak to open the 2011 season. The Cowgirls' first loss came to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship final.
The Cowgirls won their first 15 games in 2011, which also set a school record.
Home Sweet Home
OSU is 30-1-1 at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex since 2010, and the Cowgirls sport a 48-3-1 record (.933) on their home field since 2008. They are 106-27-8 (.780) all time on their current home field.
Lots Of New Faces
OSU's 2012 roster includes 11 freshmen. The talented crop of newcomers is alreading having an immediate impact on the pitch, with four of them -- Allie Stephenson, Kelsey Bass, Madison Mercado and Makenzie Kahan -- earning a spot in the starting lineup in the Cowgirls' first eight games.
Freshmen have combined to record seven of OSU's 20 goals and seven of its 12 assists.
Hermann Watch
For the sixth-straight year, OSU placed a player on the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List as senior goalie AD Franch made the 38-player list.
The Hermann Trophy is considered the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer.
Franch was one of 15 semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy in 2010 and 2011. Yolanda Odenyo (2008) is the only other Cowgirl to be named a semifinalist.
Star Watch
OSU had four players named to the 2012 Preseason All-Big 12 Team -- goalie AD Franch, defender Carson Michalowski, forward Megan Marchesano and midfielder Taylor Mathews. The Cowgirls' four selections tied West Virginia for most in the league.
Franch is a three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree, while Michalowski earned All-Big 12 First Team honors as a junior after being named to the second team as a sophomore. Marchesano was a second-team selection in 2011.
Franch has also been tabbed a preseason All-American by Soccer America, while she and Michalowski are preseason All-American choices by College Sports Madness.
Shutouts and Scores
OSU has established itself as one of the top defensive programs in the country. The Cowgirls led the Big 12 in shutouts in five of the last six seasons (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), recording 74 shutouts in 145 games during that span, and have three shutouts in eight games this season.
In 2011, OSU led the NCAA with 18 shutouts and a 0.337 goals against average, and the Cowgirls' .922 save percentage ranked as the fourth-best in a single season in NCAA history.
The Cowgirls don't just thrive on defense. They've also led the Big 12 in goals scored in two of the last four seasons (74 in '08 and 52 in '10); they were second in the league with 56 goals a year ago and are currently second this season with 20. Their 3.22 goals per game average in 2008 led the NCAA.
You Get Nothing
With the rest of her senior season still remaining, goalie AD Franch already owns OSU's career shutouts record with 35. She set the mark against Oklahoma on Aug. 26, 2011, by 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 finished her junior campaign with an OSU single-season record 12 shutouts. She led the Big 12 in shutouts in each of her first three collegiate seasons, setting a then-OSU record with 11 as a freshman and then recording nine in 2010.
Franch's 35 shutouts rank second in Big 12 history (behind Nebraska's Karina LeBlanc) and are tied for eighth on the NCAA's all-time list (Wisconsin's Heather Taggart owns the record w/52).
A native of Salina, Kan., Franch also owns OSU's career goals-against average record at 0.60, which ranks fifth all time in the Big 12. She allowed just seven goals in 20 games a year ago, and her 0.35 goals-against average ranked second nationally.
Kelley Makes 'Em Count
Junior midfielder Kristen Kelley has a knack for big goals as six of her nine career scores have been game winners. As a sophomore, each of her three goals was a game winner in a 1-0 contest.
Award-Winning Performance
Freshman midfielder Madison Mercado was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week on Aug. 28 after a weekend in which she recorded a pair of goals in a win over Creighton. She is the first Cowgirl freshman to notch multiple goals in a game since 2010.
Scoring Machine
Senior forward Megan Marchesano continues to make her mark as one of the top scorers in Oklahoma State history.
Through eight games this season, Marchesano leads the Cowgirls with five goals and 12 points, and her two assists are tied for second. All three of those totals also rank in the top six in the Big 12. She is also tied for the league lead and ranks seventh nationally with three game-winning goals. She has scored goals in five of OSU's last six games, which includes a streak of four-straight matches with a score (Vandy, Creighton, UAB, Memphis).
As a junior, Marchesano earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a utility player after racking up a team-high 10 assists and adding five goals.
In 77 career games, Marchesano ranks in the top 10 on OSU's career charts in goals (9th with 22), assists (9th with 16) and points (tied for 9th with 60).
Mathews In The Midfield
OSU returns its top scorer from a year ago in junior midfielder Taylor Mathews, a 2012 preseason All-Big 12 pick.
Mathews led the Cowgirls with nine goals and 25 points in 2011 and also added seven assists, all totals that ranked among the top 10 in the Big 12. In two-plus seasons in Stillwater, she has 14 goals and 11 assists.
They Shoot, They Score
Through eight games this season, OSU's 20 goals trail only Baylor's 21 for the most in the league. The Cowgirls are also second in the league with 154 shots and third with 52 points.
Big Shoes To Fill
OSU lost eight players off last season's squad, and that senior class set a lofty standard to maintain. The group of Sarah Brown, Elizabeth DeLozier, Colleen Dougherty, Becky Garrett, Krista Lopez, Melinda Mercado, Annika Niemeier and Kyndall Treadwell finished as the NCAA's fourth-winningest 2011 senior class as OSU went 75-14-10 (.808) over their four seasons.
Seven players in the class played 84 or more games in their careers, and the class included an All-American and two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year (Mercado) as well as five players who earned All-Big 12 status during their tenure in Stillwater.
Clutch When It Counts
OSU has made seven appearances in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship and ranks ninth all-time in tourney winning percentage among teams that have played at least 15 games. The Cowgirls are 9-4-4 in the NCAA Tournament, which translates to a .647 winning percentage.
Coach Carmichael Radio Show
OSU head coach Colin Carmichael will discuss all things Cowgirl soccer during a radio show throughout the 2012 season.
The show is hosted by the voice of Cowgirl soccer, Bill Van Ness, and will air live from the Old School Bagel Cafe in Stillwater from 6-7 p.m. on KSPI 93.7 FM. Fans can also listen to the show online at okstate.tv.
Remaining shows are scheduled on the following dates: Sept. 25, Oct. 9, Oct. 23, with a fourth show to be determined.
