Oklahoma State University Athletics
Bedlam, Rice Up Next For Cowgirls
September 05, 2012 | Cowgirl Soccer
#3 Oklahoma State (6-0-0)
at Oklahoma (3-2-1)
Friday, Sept. 7 • 7 p.m.
John Crain Field (3,500)
...
vs. Rice (2-2-1)
Sunday, Sept. 9 • Noon
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
Oklahoma State
OSU puts its perfect 6-0-0 record on the line this weekend with matches on the road and at home. The third-ranked Cowgirls, the only undefeated team in the Big 12 Conference, faces Bedlam-rival Oklahoma in a non-conference contest Friday at 7 p.m. in Norman before a Sunday showdown with Rice at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex in a match that kicks off 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
Oklahoma is 3-2-1 on the season and occupies the 10th spot in the NSCAA's Central Region Rankings. OSU is 17-2-2 all time against its Bedlam rival, and the Cowgirls have not lost to the Sooners since 2005 (10-0-1 in 11 meetings since the loss).
Rice entered a Friday match at Stephen F. Austin with a 2-2-1 mark. The Cowgirls won both previous meetings with the Owls, winning 4-0 in Stillwater in 2008 and picking up a 1-0 decision in 2009.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Friday's Bedlam match will be telecast live on FS Oklahoma. The matches will also be carried by Stillwater Radio and will air on KGFY 105.5 FM -- the OU game will be tape delayed while the Rice game airs live. Additionally, a live webcast with audio of the Rice match will be available at www.okstate.com (a fee is involved with this feature), and 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.
High Five
The Cowgirls were ranked No. 5 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire preseason poll, which marks the highest preseason ranking in program history, and they have since moved up two spots to No. 3, a spot they've held the last two weeks thanks to their 6-0-0 start. OSU is also ranked in the top 10 team by several other outlets this week -- No. 3 by Soccer America, No. 5 by TopDrawerSoccer.com and College Sports Madness and No. 6 by Soccer Times and Our Game Magazine.
With this week's rankings, OSU extended its string of consecutive weeks in the national rankings to 32, a program-record streak that dates back to the 2010 preseason. Additionally, the Cowgirls have now been ranked in the top five of the NSCAA poll for 16-straight weeks. 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 63-13-6 (.805) 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 75-3-4 mark.
Second To One
With its 48-6-4 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 50-2-4 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 122-29-19 (.774).
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 29-1-1 at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex since 2010, and the Cowgirls sport a 47-3-1 record (.931) on their home field since 2008. They are 105-27-8 (.779) 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 six games.
Freshmen have combined to record seven of OSU's 16 goals and four of its eight 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 two shutouts in six 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 16. 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 34. 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 34 shutouts rank second in Big 12 history (behind Nebraska's Karina LeBlanc) and are 25th on the NCAA's all-time list (Wisconsin's Heather Taggart owns the record with 52).
A native of Salina, Kan., Franch also owns OSU's career goals-against average record at 0.58, which ranks fourth 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 five of her seven 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.
Comeback Cowgirls
OSU has fallen behind 1-0 in each of its last three matches before rallying to win.
In 2011, the Cowgirls never trailed in their first 15 games, going a span of 1,359 minutes & 13 seconds before Texas took a 1-0 lead 3:49 into their match on Oct. 24.
The Cowgirls tied UT at the 56:35 mark of that game and then did not trail in a match again until the final nine seconds of the Big 12 Championship title game vs. Texas A&M.
M&M
OSU returns two of its top three scorers from a year ago in senior forward Megan Marchesano and junior midfielder Taylor Mathews. That duo combined for 14 goals and 17 assists in 2011.
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 seasons in Stillwater, she has 14 goals and 11 assists.
Marchesano earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a utility player a year ago after racking up a team-high 10 assists and adding five goals. With a team-leading four goals this season, she has moved into the top 10 on OSU's career charts in goals (tied for 9th with 19), assists (tied for ninth with 15) and points (10th with 57).
Big 12 Leaders
Through six games, OSU's nine goals are tied with Texas Tech and Baylor for the most in the league, and Megan Marchesano leads the league in shots (24) and game-winning goals (3).
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.
