Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Prepare For Pair Of Top 10 Opponents
September 04, 2013 | Cowgirl Soccer
Sep 4, 2013
OSU Game Notes - Florida St. & Florida
Oklahoma State (3-0-1)
at #2 Florida State (4-0-0)
Friday, Sept. 6 • 6 p.m.
Seminole Soccer Complex (2,000)
...
at #10 Florida (3-1-0)
Sunday, Sept. 8 • 12:30 p.m.
James G. Pressly Stadium (4,500)
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State heads to the Sunshine State this weekend for a pair of matches against Top 10 opponents as the Cowgirls take on No. 2 Florida State Friday in Tallahassee, Fla., before a Sunday showdown against 10th-ranked Florida in Gainesville. The Cowgirls are undefeated on the season, with their 3-0-1 mark including wins over Oklahoma and Gonzaga last weekend.
The Cowgirls are coming off an 11-6-3 season in 2012 in which they finished seventh in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 1-4-3 mark. Eight starters return from that squad, led by senior Kristen Kelley and junior Miriam Rhinehart.
OSU is entering the 18th season in program history, while head coach Colin Carmichael enters his ninth season at the helm. The Cowgirls have earned a berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in six of the last seven years and have claimed Big 12 titles in four of the last five seasons.
The Opponents
Florida State is 4-0-0 and has outscored its opponents 9-1 on the season. The Seminoles have advanced to the NCAA Women's College Cup each of the last two years.
Florida entered the week 3-1-0 prior to hosting Oklahoma Friday night. Florida's lone loss this season came at home to Florida State.
OSU has never faced Florida or Florida State on the pitch.
On The Air & The Web
Fans wishing to follow this weekend's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Live stats for both matches will be available at www.okstate.com (link is under Schedule). Sunday's match at Florida will air live on Sun Sports with Larry Vettel and Matthew Stubbington calling the action and will also be streamed online at www.gatorvision.tv/ (there is a fee for the webcast).
Winning Is A Habit
By its recent standards, OSU had a down year in 2012, but the program has reached unprecedented heights during the 2000s.
From 2006-2011, the Cowgirls earned six-straight NCAA Tournament bids and advanced to at least the second round each time, including back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2010 and 2011. And from 2008-11, the program celebrated four consecutive Big 12 championships, bringing its total to five league titles in the last 10 seasons -- three tournament (2003, '09, '10) and two regular season (2008, '11).
In 2011, OSU set a school record with 22 wins. The Cowgirls finished the '11 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. OSU was 6-0-2 in conference play to claim its second regular-season Big 12 title and in doing so became the first Big 12 team since Texas A&M in 2002 to complete the league schedule without a loss.
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.
Century Mark
With the win over Creighton on Sept. 2, 2011, OSU head coach Colin Carmichael notched his 100th career victory. In his ninth season at the helm, Carmichael sports a career mark of 130-35-23 (.753).
Karen Hancock, now a Cowgirl assistant, served as OSU's first-ever head coach and was 110-89-19 in 11 seasons.
Home Sweet Home
The Cowgirls are 2-0-0 on their home field last season. OSU is 35-1-4 (.925) at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex since 2010, and the Cowgirls sport a 53-3-4 record (.917) on their home field since 2008. They are 111-27-11 (.782) all time on their current home field.
Young Guns
OSU's 26-player roster includes just seven upperclassmen, only two of them seniors (Kristen Kelley and Bethany Fields), while 19 players are either freshmen (10), redshirt freshmen (2) or sophomores (7).
Last season, OSU's regular starting lineup consisted of five freshmen and two sophomores, and while the team will be more experienced in 2013, several newcomers are already making significant impacts. Freshman forwards Krissi Killion, Courtney Dike and Natalie Calhoun have cracked the starting lineup, while fellow rookie Joanna Robertson has also seen action.
Through four games, freshmen have accounted for five of OSU's nine goals and two of its five assists.
Star Watch
OSU senior midfielder Kristen Kelley was selected to the 2013 Preseason All-Big 12 Team by the league's head coaches.
Kelley has started 63 career games, recording nine goals and five assists. She missed the second half of her junior season with an injury but recorded three goals and an assist in 12 games.
Freshman Phenom
Cowgirl freshman Courtney Dike is quickly establishing herself as a prolific scorer at the collegiate level. In her first four games, the forward from Edmond, Okla., has recorded a pair of two-goal performances -- vs. Vanderbilt and Oklahoma -- and leads the Big 12 in goals (5), points (11) and shots (17 -- 11 of which have been on goal). On Sept. 3, she was named the Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week and the College Sports Madness Big 12 Player of the Week after recording three goals and an assist in wins against OU and Gonzaga.
Scoring is nothing new for Dike, who netted 94 goals and 32 assists during her career at Edmond North High School.
Sophomore Surge
As a freshman last season, Madison Mercado earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors and finished second on OSU with four goals. Two weeks into her sophomore season, she already has three goals and has equalled her assist total from a year ago with two. Of her three goals, two have been game winners (vs. UT Martin and Gonzaga), a total that leads the Big 12.
Out To Prove Them Wrong
In a vote of the conference's head coaches, OSU was picked to finish fouth in the Big 12 this season. West Virginia is the favorite, followed by Texas Tech and Baylor.
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 seven seasons (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), recording 74 shutouts in 146 games during that span, and had six shutouts in 20 games a year ago.
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 also led the Big 12 in goals scored in two of the last five seasons (74 in '08 and 52 in '10), and they were second in the league with 56 goals in 2011.
Kelley Makes 'Em Count
Senior 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.
Big Shoes To Fill
OSU lost six players off last season's squad and among them were some of the best Cowgirls to ever wear the orange and black. The group of Kassie Embrey, AD Franch, Alicia Gray, Keely Kippenberger, Megan Marchesano, Carson Michalowski and Casey Smith finished the season as the sixth-winningest senior class in the NCAA in 2012. The Cowgirls were 68-19-9 (.755) over their four seasons, and no other Big 12 team won more games during that span.
Franch was a three-time All-American at goalie and one of only seven players in Big 12 history to earn first-team all-conference honors four times. She finished her career with a school-record 38 shutouts.
Marchesano finished her career ranked in the top 10 on OSU's all-time list in goals, assists, points and shots, while Michalowski was a three-time All-Big 12 defender who helped the Cowgirls notch 48 shutouts in the 93 games she played.
Coach Carmichael Radio Show
OSU head coach Colin Carmichael will discuss all things Cowgirl soccer during a radio show throughout the 2013 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 Tuesdays from 6-6:30 p.m. on KGFY 105.5 FM. Fans can also listen to the show online at okstate.tv.
