Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Little Rock
Cowgirls Set To Conclude Regular Season
October 24, 2016 | Cowgirl Soccer
Oklahoma State (8-6-3, 3-3-1)
vs. Little Rock (11-6-1)
Tues., Oct. 25 • 7 p.m. • Stillwater, Okla.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)
at #1 West Virginia (15-1-1, 7-0-0)
Fri., Oct. 28 • 6 p.m. (CST) • Morgantown, W.Va.
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium (1,650)
GAME NOTES
Oklahoma StateÂ
   Oklahoma State concludes the regular season this week when it hosts Little Rock in its final home game of 2016 on Tuesday night before a trip to Morgantown to take on top-ranked West Virginia on Friday. Unbeaten in four of its last five matches, OSU is 8-6-3 on the season and tied for fifth place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 3-3-1 mark.
   OSU is coming off a 2015 season in which they compiled a 9-9-2 record and finished eighth in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 2-4-2 mark. The Cowgirls return seven starters and 18 letterwinners from last season, including a pair of three-time All-Big 12 performers in forward Courtney Dike and defender Natalie Calhoun.
   The 2016 season marks the 21st in the history of the OSU women's soccer program. Over their first 20 seasons, the Cowgirls compiled a 238-141-44 (.615) record, and head coach Colin Carmichael entered his 12th season at the helm with a 155-61-31 mark. The Cowgirls have earned a berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in eight of the last 10 years and have claimed Big 12 titles in four of the last eight seasons.
About The Opponents
   Little Rock is 11-6-1 on the season, and the Trojans are unbeaten in their last six matches, including a current three-game winning streak. Little Rock is led by Arola Aparicio Gill (5 goals, 2 assists) and Quin Wilkes (4 goals, 4 assists).
   OSU is 6-0-0 all time against Little Rock (formerly known as UALR), with the Cowgirls outscoring the Trojans 32-1 in the series. The last meeting came in 2011 in Stillwater, with OSU claiming a 7-0 victory.
   West Virginia is the nation's top-ranked team and brings a 15-1-1 mark into Friday's contest. At 7-0-0, the Mountaineers have already been crowned Big 12 regular season champions for a fifth consecutive season. WVU has outscored its opponents 33-6 on the season and has recorded 11 shutouts.
   OSU is winless in its six previous meetings with West Virginia; each of the losses has been by a single goal. Last season, the Cowgirls dropped a pair of 2-1 contests to the Mountaineers, including an overtime match in Stillwater.
On The Air & The WebÂ
   Fans wishing to follow this week's matches can do so in a variety of ways. Tuesday's match vs. Little Rock is available to watch online via a free webcast at okstate.com/live and will also air live on KGFY 105.5 FM, with Bill Van Ness on the call, while Friday's contest in Morgantown will also be webcast on Mountaineer TV. Live stats will be available for both matches via links at www.okstate.com (link can be accessed via the Schedule tab on the Cowgirl soccer page). Additionally, fans can follow the official OSU Soccer Twitter account, @CowgirlFC, for in-game updates.Â
Winning Is A Habit
   The 2016 season marks the 21st in the OSU program's history and over those two-plus decades, the program has been built into an established winner.
   • OSU has earned a berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship eight of the last 10 years (beginning in 2006).
   • From 2006-11, the Cowgirls earned six-straight NCAA tourney bids and advanced to at least the second round each time, including back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2010 and 2011.Â
   • From 2008-11, OSU celebrated four consecutive Big 12 championships — two regular season (2008, '11) and two tournament ('09, '10).
   • 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.
Back In the Saddle
   OSU returns seven players who started at least 10 games during the 2015 season. Of the 16 returning letterwinners, 14 are field players, and that group combined for 24 of the Cowgirls' 36 goals a year ago, as well as 18 of its 23 assists.
Preseason Prognostications
   In preseason voting by the league's head coaches, OSU was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Conference standings behind four-time defending league champion West Virginia, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Baylor. A pair of Cowgirls — forward Courtney Dike and defender Natalie Calhoun — were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
Home Sweet Home
   The Cowgirls are 4-5-0 on their home field in 2016. OSU is 74-16-9 (.793) at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex since 2008 and is 132-40-16 (.745) all time on its current home turf.Â
Dynamic duo
   Natalie Calhoun and Courtney Dike are already in rare company and could join an elite list in 2016. Both Cowgirls have earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors three times, making them two of only seven OSU players to be named all-conference three times in a career. Only two Cowgirls — Yolanda Odenyo and AD Franch — have achieved All-Big 12 status four times.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
   Prior to the season, TopDrawerSoccer.com released its list of the Top 100 players in women's college soccer, a list that ranks sophomores, juniors and seniors. A pair of Cowgirls made the list as Courtney Dike was ranked No. 73 while Natalie Calhoun checked in at No. 82. On the recently released Midseason list, Dike came in at No. 68.Â
New Faces
   Twelve newcomers joined the OSU roster in 2016, and the group includes 10 freshmen, a sophomore transfer and a junior college transfer.
   Ten different newcomers — eight freshmen, two transfers — have made their OSU debuts in 2016 and each has started at least one game.
Putting It In The Net
   Statistically speaking, OSU is among the nation's most dynamic offenses this season. The Cowgirls' 38 goals ranks 23rd nationally, 11 behind the NCAA leader (Alabama State), and they are 24th in scoring offense at 2.24 goals per game and 29th in points (107).
   Fifteen different Cowgirls have scored goals this season, while 12 different players have notched assists. Of OSU's 245 shots, 112 have been on goal (.457).
You'll Get your Chance
   OSU has had a different starting lineup in 12 of its 17 games in 2016, and 20 different Cowgirls have started games this season. Only three — Courtney Dike, Julia Lenhardt and Natalie Calhoun — have started all 17 games.
She Shoots, She Scores
   Courtney Dike quickly established herself as a prolific scorer at the collegiate level as a freshman in 2013, and she has continued that scoring production throughout her career for the Cowgirls.
   The forward from Edmond, Okla., ranked second in the Big 12 in 2013 with 13 goals and 30 points and earned All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer Team honors. Her 13 goals tied for the fourth most in a single season in OSU history, three shy of Yolanda Odenyo's record 16, while her 30 points was the eighth highest single-season total all time.
   Dike recorded three two-goal performances — vs. Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Missouri State — which marked the most multi-goal games by a Cowgirl since 2010, and of her 58 shots, 30 of those (52 percent) were on goal. She was named the Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week on two occasions in 2013.
   In 2014, Dike recorded three goals, two of them game winners, and three assists in 19 games. As a juninor, she ranked in the top six in the Big 12 in goals (5), assists (7) and points (17). She has scored goals in nine of OSU's 17 games this season, with her nine goals leading the conference, and she also ranks atop the league with 24 points.
Climbing The Charts
   Courtney Dike has nine goals in 2016 and is tied for fourth on OSU's career goals list with 30, one of only five players in program history to reach that mark. The Cowgirls' all-time record of 35 is held by Yolanda Odenyo and Jolene Schweitzer.Â
   Dike also ranks fifth on OSU's career charts in assists (20) and points (80), and she is sixth with 197 career shots.
   Junior goalie Michela Ongaro is also among OSU's all-time statistical leaders in the net. The Wisconsin native and former walk-on is fourth on the Cowgirls' career charts with 12 shutouts and ranks fifth with 182 saves and a 1.13 goals against average.Â
The Biggest Stage
   Courtney Dike is one of a select few collegiate players who can boast of having played in a Women's World Cup.
   Dike earned a pair of caps for Nigeria at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Her first came as a reserve in a match against Australia, and in the Super Falcons' final tourney game, Dike was in the starting lineup against the eventual champion United States. She played 50 minutes against the U.S. before subbing out early in the second half. Â
   Dike concluded her first trip to the Women's World Cup playing 56 minutes and recording one shot. Nigeria finished 0-2-1 at the tourney and failed to advance out of Group D.
   The experience was historic as Dike became the first OSU player to participate in a World Cup and also the first-ever Oklahoman to compete in a Women's World Cup.
   In 2014, Dike was a member of the Nigeria U-20 Women's National Team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. That trip proved highly successful, though it meant OSU was without its top scorer for the first two games of 2014.Â
   During that tourney, Dike helped the Falconets into the U-20 World Cup final, where they dropped a 1-0 decision to Germany. A starter at forward throughout most of the tourney, Dike recorded a pair of goals in six games. In pool play against South Korea, she scored the fastest goal in FIFA Women's World Cup history as she found the back of the net just 18 seconds into the match, and she scored a goal 64 seconds into the semifinal match against North Korea to help Nigeria advance to the final.
   Dike's parents, Vincent and Jacinta, are natives of Nigeria, and her older brother, Bright, has been on the country's men's national team.Â
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Her Defense Never Rests
   Natalie Calhoun has been an anchor at defender since arriving on campus in 2013. The center back has played in all 80 of OSU's games during her career and been a starter in 79 of those, and she has ranked either first or second in minutes played among field players each of her first three seasons. The lone game she in which she was not in the starting lineup was the season opener her freshman season.
   A three-time All-Big 12 Second Team performer, Calhoun has played a part in 25 shutouts during her career.
Big 12's Best
   Oklahoma State has had a Big 12 Conference weekly award winner five times in 2016, with Courtney Dike being honored twice and Julia Lenhardt, Jaci Jones and Michela Ongaro also being recognized for their standout play.  Â
   Dike was named the first Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for 2016. In the season opener at Georgia, Dike's goal in the 62nd minute gave OSU its first lead of the contest, and on Sunday against Mercer, she scored just 72 seconds into the match to help the Cowgirls record their first win of the season. Dike also picked up the honor on Oct. 11 following a weekend that saw her record an assist in a 1-0 win at Texas Tech and a goal in a 1-1 draw at Kansas.
   Dike has been recognized with a Big 12 weekly award six times in her career.Â
   Lenhardt was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week following week two after she recorded OSU's first two goals to lead the Cowgirls to a 4-1 win over Oral Roberts. In notching the first two scores of her collegiate career, the midfielder also became the first OSU freshman to score multiple goals in a game since Dike in 2013.Â
   Jones was the league's Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Sept. 12 after she was OSU's leading scorer in helping the Cowgirls to wins over Abilene Christian and UTSA. The midfielder recorded two goals and two assists on the weekend, notching assists in both matches and collecting the first multi-goal game of her career with a pair of goals vs. UTSA.
   Ongaro was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11 following a weekend that saw her record 12 saves. She picked up a shutout vs. Texas Tech Friday night before racking up eight saves in a tie at Kansas on Sunday.
