Cowgirls' Ongaro Returns To Goal

By John Langham, OSU Communications

The final horn sounds and the Oklahoma State soccer team heads to the sideline to celebrate a 4-0 victory over Georgia.

Defeating UGA is reason enough to be excited, but Cowgirl goalkeeper Michela Ongaro is elated just to be playing the game that she loves.

"There's no other feeling like being out there on a Friday night or Sunday afternoon and seeing people cheering for your school, getting to put on the jersey for your school and getting to show off all the hard work we put in," Ongaro said.

Ongaro, a Hartland, Wisconsin native, had plenty of reasons to showcase that pride by pursuing a collegiate soccer career at OSU.

"I actually have some family here," Ongaro said. "My mom went here, my aunt teaches here and my grandma still lives in Stillwater."

And that family connection is what ultimately gave Ongaro the opportunity to join OSU head coach Colin Carmichael's program.

When Ongaro made a routine summer visit to see her grandmother, the trip coincided with an OSU soccer camp. Ongaro's mom, Renee, signed her up for the camp, and she got the opportunity to display her skills for the Cowgirls' coaching staff.

"Towards the end of the first session Colin (Carmichael) kind of pulled me aside and said 'Contact us,'" Ongaro said. "So it was just a lucky, right-place, right-time kind of thing."

Ongaro joined the OSU program as a walk-on in 2013, and her coaches knew right away that she had the potential to be a special player.

"Just watching her play the first few practices, (OSU associate head coach) Justin (Elkington) and I were both like, 'Wow. This kid is really good,'" Carmichael said.

While her coaches saw the potential right away, Ongaro herself wasn't as sure what to hope for from her freshman year.

"Just don't get cut," Ongaro jokingly said. "When I came in I didn't expect to play until my junior year because Rosa (Medina) was here, and she was so established as a goalie."

And while college walk-ons don't generally see much meaningful game action, Ongaro became an exception on a rainy night in Houston.

Ongaro subbed in at goalkeeper for the second half of a game against Rice, a game that would eventually be rained out before it could become an official game.

That wouldn't be Ongaro's only opportunity, however.

In the team's next game against North Texas, Ongaro made her first career start.

"I had never been so nervous in my life," Ongaro said.

But that start was a successful one as OSU defeated UNT, 2-1 – and for the rest of the 2013 season, Ongaro would be the team's starting goalkeeper.

"As soon as I got a hold of it, I didn't let go," Ongaro said.

Ongaro finished her freshman season with four shutouts in 14 games to go along a 0.82 goals against average that ranked as the seventh-best in program history, offering a glimpse of what she could accomplish.

"She could be phenomenal," Carmichael said. "She could be an All-Big 12 goalkeeper for sure."

Following the impressive freshman campaign, Ongaro's hard work would be rewarded as she was put on scholarship.

"I took a chance to come here," Ongaro said. "So when they put me on scholarship it was just a huge affirmation of all the hard work and all the time I put in. I really appreciated it."

But the successful start to her career would soon face its first real obstacle. On the third day of summer workouts prior to her sophomore season, Ongaro jumped over a hurdle awkwardly and tore the ACL, MCL and meniscus in her left knee.

"I knew it was bad," Ongaro said. "I knew something was wrong because I heard the pop, and it was unstable."

Ongaro missed the entire 2014 season because of the injury and underwent months of painful rehab and physical therapy. The injury cost her a year of playing, but she said some good has come from it.

"I don't want to say it re-ignited my passion for the game," Ongaro said. "But you definitely see how much it means to you and that everything, all the workouts and everything they make us do, is all worth it."

Ongaro, now healthy and having reclaimed her spot as the Cowgirls' starting goalkeeper, was named as one of OSU's team captains for the 2015 season.

"She's just a great kid," Carmichael said of Ongaro. "She goes to class. She makes good grades. She doesn't tend to get in trouble. She just has all of the aspects you look for in leaders."

Carmichael and the coaching staff have been impressed with the way Ongaro has bounced back after missing last season.

"She's starting to look like her old self in practice," Carmichael said. "In the early part of this season, she's got that spring back in her step, and I think the confidence is coming back, too."

For Ongaro, her injury was a setback, but it has given her a new perspective on the game that she loves.

"Every game I try to look at the fans and look at the girls I'm out there with because I didn't get to do that all of last year," Ongaro said. "After all of that, it makes me love it that much more."

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