Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Soccer 2014 Season Preview
August 15, 2014 | Cowgirl Soccer
A late season run to the finals of the Big 12 Soccer Championship catapulted Oklahoma State into a spot in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship field in 2013.
In 2014, the Cowgirls are looking for a more consistent winning formula as they bid for conference supremacy and a return to the NCAA tourney.
The goals for OSU head coach Colin Carmichael are simple.
“Every year going into the season with this program our expectation is to compete for a Big 12 championship and get in the NCAA Tournament, and I think we have the ability to do both,” Carmichael said.
Optimism is high for a squad that returns 10 starters from last season's 9-7-6 team, including All-Big 12 performers Courtney Dike, Allie Stephenson and Natalie Calhoun.
The experience and maturation of that group should also be a key — last season, nine of OSU's regular starting 11 were underclassmen.
“We're a lot more experienced than we were last year, have a lot of kids that have played a lot of minutes in a lot of big games — NCAA Tournament, Big 12 Championship finals, on the road at Florida State and Florida,” Carmichael said. “These kids have tons of experience now so it certainly won't be an excuse this year. You hope that experience leads into more consistent performances throughout the season.”
Versatility and depth should also be trademarks of the '14 Cowgirls. Twelve of OSU's returners played at least 15 games last season, and the roster is filled with players who Carmichael believes are capable of playing multiple positions.
“It's a long season and when you play Friday and Sunday games, you have to have a squad of 16, 17 players, and if you have players who can play more than one position it allows you to move people and rest players without the level of play dropping,” Carmichael said. “It allows you to stay fresher as the season wears on and allows you to be stronger late in the year.
“Also, we've been a 4-3-3 team for many years, but this allows us to possibly play a 4-3-2-1 or even with a two-front at times, depending on the opposition or what we see within our team. Having players that can play numerous positions definitely gives you more flexibility.”
The good news for OSU's offensive attack is that 100 percent of the players who combined for the Cowgirls' 29 goals and 22 assists in 2013 return to the pitch.
Highlighting the attackers up front is sophomore forward Courtney Dike, who burst onto the scene a year ago to finish second in the Big 12 with 13 goals and 30 points, both of which also ranked among the top 10 best single-season totals in program history.
“Dike is the first name that you look at up front — she had an amazing freshman year and if she can duplicate that form and even improve on it, we'd be really pleased,” Carmichael said. “What she's going to have to adjust to is being a known entity in college soccer — everyone is going to focus on shutting her down and she's gonna have to find ways to work even harder and get her shot off and her goals.”
Dike is by no means a one-person show. Junior Allie Stephenson, who like Dike was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection a year ago, ranked in the top 10 in the conference with six goals and 15 points and has eight goals and eight assists in her first two seasons.
Another junior, Madison Mercado, earned all-conference honors as a freshman in 2013 and last year ranked second in the Big 12 with seven assists.
Carmichael will also count on sophomore Krissi Killion, who had four goals and three assists as a rookie, along with freshman Anna Beffer, to step up and fuel the scoring punch. Senior Miriam Rhinehart and redshirt frosh Niki McKnight are versatile options who could also see action up front.
“We think we've got a lot of options in the attack — those girls just have to step up and get the job done and be reliable on a consistent basis,” Carmichael said. “Allie Stephenson is a big key to settle the game down, keep possession for us and move forward and score goals.”
In the midfield, the Cowgirls will have to replace four-year starter Kristen Kelley and will look at several options to complement Mercado and Stephenson. Rhinehart could see action at midfield, while sophomores Haley Maurice and Joanna Robertson and freshmen Beryl Smith and Laurene Tresfield, among others, will compete for minutes.
Defensively, OSU looks to be stout with a talented number of veteran performers who helped the Cowgirls record five shutouts last season.
Natalie Calhoun earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors as a freshman and is joined at center back by junior Delaney Kiely. Juniors Kelsey Bass and Lauren Reyes both started 19 games a year ago, while seniors Baillie Burmaster and Rhinehart are veterans of the defensive back line.
Battling for playing time will also be several talented newcomers, among them Lana Duke, Abbey Bright, Allie Rivers and McKnight.
“The back line, on paper, should be one of the strengths and most settled parts of the team,” Carmichael said. “Getting Bass and Kiely back healthy and full strength will be big. Natalie Calhoun had a great freshman year, and we expect her to be dominant this year. And Lauren Reyes might have been our most improved kid last year.”
In goal, the Cowgirls were dealt a blow just prior to the start of preseason when sophomore Michela Ongaro was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury. Ongaro started 14 games as a freshman, recording four shutouts, a 0.82 goals against average and 52 saves to earn a spot on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.
However, the loss of Ongaro creates opportunity for veteran Rosa Medina and redshirt freshman Asthton Hierholzer.
A senior, Medina has started 14 games in her career and racked up 68 saves in over 1,400 minutes in goal.
“It's a great opportunity for Rosa to step up her senior year,” Carmichael said. “She's got a lot of experience and played some minutes in big games.”
Regardless of who's on the field, the Cowgirls will have plenty of big-game opportunities in 2014.
Along with the always-tough Big 12 slate, which includes road matches against nationally ranked and two-time defending league champ West Virginia and Texas Tech, the Cowgirls face the likes of powerhouses Florida State and Florida, not to mention Arkansas, Arizona State and Memphis.
“Our schedule should help us build toward the NCAA Tournament — it's got to be one of the toughest in the country,” Carmichael said. “It's really challenging, but if we get enough results it should help boost our RPI quite a bit.”
