Cowgirl Soccer: Looking Back & Ahead

Oklahoma State concluded the non-conference portion of its 2015 schedule in impressive fashion last week as the Cowgirls topped Drake, 3-0, on Wednesday before crushing Oral Roberts by an 8-0 margin Friday. OSU returns to action Friday at Iowa State.

Week Highlights

With the two wins, OSU moved back over the .500 mark on the season at 7-6-2.
Nine different Cowgirls scored goals in the two games, with Courtney Dike and Madison Mercado each collecting two scores. Both Dike (3) and Mercado (2) also collected multiple assists.
Goalies Michela Ongaro and Ashton Hierholzer combined for a pair of shutouts, bringing OSU's season total to six. Ongaro made three saves in 137:44 of action in the two games, while Hierholzer recorded two saves in 42:16.
A total of 24 different Cowgirls saw action. Sophomore Niki McKnight, who started 18 games last season, returned to the pitch for the first time this season after previously being out following offseason hip surgery.
OSU's eight goals against Oral Roberts marked its most in a game since 2011 when the Cowgirls scored nine against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. It also tied for the seventh-most goals in a single game in program history.
Three Cowgirls — Lana Duke, Morgan McDougal and Joanna Robertson — recorded the first goals of their collegiate careers against ORU.
OSU is now 5-1-2 on its home field this season.

Stat Speak

Through 15 games this season, OSU has recorded 30 goals and 19 assists. In 21 games in 2014, the Cowgirls had 22 goals and 15 assists.
Thirteen different OSU players have scored goals this season, and nine different Cowgirls have collected assists.
OSU ranks second in the Big 12 in goals (30), shots (257) and corner kicks (90).
The Cowgirls scored eight goals on 24 shots against Oral Roberts. Sixteen of their shots were on goal.
Of OSU's 257 shots this season, 115 have been on goal for a .447 shots on goal percentage; its opponents own a .347 shots on goal percentage.
Courtney Dike has moved into 10^th place on OSU's career goals list with 21. She is also just two assists shy of the Cowgirls' all-time top 10, as well as being five points shy of the top 10 in points.
Dike ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 this season in goals (tied for 5^th with five), assists (tied for 2^nd with six) and points (5^th with 16). She is also tied for eighth with 36 shots.
Allie Stephenson now ranks fourth on OSU's career shots list with 204, just four away from third place, while Madison Mercado (176) ranks eighth on the list.
Both Stephenson and Mercado also have 12 assists apiece in their careers, three shy of entering the OSU top 10.
In the latest official NCAA RPI released today, OSU checks in at No. 86, up 16 spots from last week.

Stars Of The Weekend
Courtney Dike and Madison Mercado led an impressive and efficient scoring attack last week. Dike recorded two goals and an assist against Drake, then added two more assists against Oral Roberts. Mercado assisted on both Dike goals against Drake while tallying a score of her own and also recorded a goal vs. ORU.
All six of Dike's shots in the two games were on goal, while Mercado put four of her five attempts on frame.

Up Next

With four Big 12 Conference games remaining, OSU travels to Ames for a Friday contest against Iowa State. The Cowgirls are 0-2-2 in league play and in eighth place in the standings.
Iowa State is 5-9-0 overall and 0-5-0 in the Big 12, placing them ninth in the conference standings, and has been outscored 23-15 on the season. Junior forward Koree Willer leads the Cyclones with five goals and three assists, while sophomore goalie Lindsey Hendon has recorded five shutouts.
OSU is 9-8-2 all time against Iowa State but is just 2-7-1 in Ames. The Cowgirls won last year's meeting by a 1-0 count in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Courtney Dike

Lana Duke

Ashton Hierholzer

Morgan McDougal

Niki McKnight

Madison Mercado

Michela Ongaro

Joanna Robertson

Allie Stephenson

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