Oklahoma State University Athletics
Kathrin Lehmann
Kathrin Lehmann left OSU soccer to chase Olympic hockey dream
January 10, 2024 | Cowgirl Soccer
By Davis Cordova, The O'Colly
This story was originally published in The O'Colly on Oct. 20, 2023 and can be found here.
Kathrin Lehmann delivered shocking news to Karen Hancock.
Lehmann, the team's starting goaltender, wasn't unhappy in Stillwater, yet she told Hancock that ideally she'd be leaving OSU's soccer team.
If she could land a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
That opportunity: representing her home country of Switzerland in the Olympics... playing ice hockey.
Lehmann helped lead OSU to its first Big 12 soccer championship in 2003, but left Stillwater after one season to chase the Olympic dream, if the Swiss hockey team could advance to the Games, which it did with an overtime win over the Chinese team in the qualifying tournament.
So, Lehmann achieved her dream. In addition, she earned a bonus, a reward from Hancock, head coach of the OSU soccer program at the time.
Hancock offered to watch Lehmann compete in person in the Olympics. So when Turin, Italy, hosted the 2006 Olympics, Hancock was there, sitting rinkside watching a Cowgirl compete at the highest stage of international sport.
Lehmann said she is grateful for Hancock to uphold her promise and said it exemplifies the people she grew to know at OSU.
"They came to the opening ceremony and to my games wearing my jerseys and sitting with the Lehmann family," Lehmann said. "This story shows what OSU is all about. It's full of heart, full of trust and full of encouragement. You can really count on orange-wearing people."
Lehmann was a vital part of the Swiss' hockey team, starting at forward, hardly similar to the position of a goalie.
Lehmann scored five goals in two Olympics and even served as the team captain of the Swiss in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
The two-sport stardom was nothing new for Lehmann.
She competed on the Swiss National Team in both ice hockey and soccer, as well as playing for clubs in both sports as well, including Bayern Munich in Germany.
She's also the only person to win the Champions League in both sports.
Lehmann's dedication to offense bled into her play as a soccer goalie, especially at OSU.
Hancock said Lehmann's offensive mindset helped her become a better goaltender for the Cowgirls.
"Well, that was always her thing, and it was interesting she played different ends on the ice and the field," Hancock said. "She told me it helped her balance it out.
"She wasn't always about defense, she loved playing on the attack. When she played goalie here, she was an aggressive goalie and would come out for some things, making you bite your nails a little bit, but it's better to have a goalkeeper who's like that as opposed to being hesitant."
Now, how did Lehmann find her way from Switzerland to Stillwater? It was far from traditional. She wasn't on the radar at all.
OSU coach Colin Carmichael was an assistant on that team and remembers recruiting a different foreign prospect at the time.
Carmichael was in Germany recruiting Adriane Radtke, who played for the Bayern Munich women's team.
Bayern Munich is the most successful German sports club, so Carmichael said he was shocked to be at the facilities watching practice and recruiting there.
After practices, Radtke told Carmichael she was going to OSU if everything went according to plan. Carmichael also mentioned to Radtke he needed another goalie.
Radtke knew one.
"Radtke asked if I liked Katherin," Carmichael said. "I said, 'Yeah, she's really good.' And she mentioned she played for the Swiss National Team. Radtke said Katherin was jealous and wanted to go to the States, too.
"So I asked if she was around and Radkte called her up and we had coffee with Katherin and that's how we started recruiting her. She decided she wanted to be a Cowgirl and I was over the moon because wow, what a player."
The impact Lehmann left after just one year in Stillwater is clear when her former coaches mention her.
Carmichael said it's safe to say OSU doesn't win the 2003 Big 12 Championship without Lehmann as the starting goalie. She was named tournament defensive MVP.
He also said the competitiveness and mindset she brought with her from Europe is not seen from players from the States and was vital for the Cowgirls' success.
"She really helped us in the early days," Carmichael said. "She took us to another level. She drove the standard of our program. She did not like losing and that rubbed off on our team.
"Sometimes you have young American players who don't really know how to win at the highest level. Katherin played for her national team and played in Europe, so she brought that mentality with her, and I think that was crucial."
And to think, OSU, which doesn't offer women's scholarship hockey, can claim an Olympic hockey player.
Scroll through the Olympic participant list on OSU athletics webpage and you'll find names like Henry Iba and John Smith, among others, but Lehmann's is the sole name associated with the Winter Games. And it's listed twice.
Lehmann said her one year at OSU and being the school's only athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics is meaningful. She still has all the t-shirts she collected in her single season in Stillwater, although the shirts have faded from bright orange to white.
"It makes me proud," Lehmann said. "I am still a very proud Cowgirl. I have all my t-shirts still, I cannot throw them away. For me, the time at OSU is a very important time in my life.
"I got a lot of impact from the U.S. culture, from college sports, from Karen (Hancock), from Colin Carmichael. We were part of the first big wins there."
Â
This story was originally published in The O'Colly on Oct. 20, 2023 and can be found here.
Kathrin Lehmann delivered shocking news to Karen Hancock.
Lehmann, the team's starting goaltender, wasn't unhappy in Stillwater, yet she told Hancock that ideally she'd be leaving OSU's soccer team.
If she could land a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
That opportunity: representing her home country of Switzerland in the Olympics... playing ice hockey.
Lehmann helped lead OSU to its first Big 12 soccer championship in 2003, but left Stillwater after one season to chase the Olympic dream, if the Swiss hockey team could advance to the Games, which it did with an overtime win over the Chinese team in the qualifying tournament.
So, Lehmann achieved her dream. In addition, she earned a bonus, a reward from Hancock, head coach of the OSU soccer program at the time.
Hancock offered to watch Lehmann compete in person in the Olympics. So when Turin, Italy, hosted the 2006 Olympics, Hancock was there, sitting rinkside watching a Cowgirl compete at the highest stage of international sport.
Lehmann said she is grateful for Hancock to uphold her promise and said it exemplifies the people she grew to know at OSU.
"They came to the opening ceremony and to my games wearing my jerseys and sitting with the Lehmann family," Lehmann said. "This story shows what OSU is all about. It's full of heart, full of trust and full of encouragement. You can really count on orange-wearing people."
Lehmann was a vital part of the Swiss' hockey team, starting at forward, hardly similar to the position of a goalie.
Lehmann scored five goals in two Olympics and even served as the team captain of the Swiss in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.
The two-sport stardom was nothing new for Lehmann.
She competed on the Swiss National Team in both ice hockey and soccer, as well as playing for clubs in both sports as well, including Bayern Munich in Germany.
She's also the only person to win the Champions League in both sports.
Lehmann's dedication to offense bled into her play as a soccer goalie, especially at OSU.
Hancock said Lehmann's offensive mindset helped her become a better goaltender for the Cowgirls.
"Well, that was always her thing, and it was interesting she played different ends on the ice and the field," Hancock said. "She told me it helped her balance it out.
"She wasn't always about defense, she loved playing on the attack. When she played goalie here, she was an aggressive goalie and would come out for some things, making you bite your nails a little bit, but it's better to have a goalkeeper who's like that as opposed to being hesitant."
Now, how did Lehmann find her way from Switzerland to Stillwater? It was far from traditional. She wasn't on the radar at all.
OSU coach Colin Carmichael was an assistant on that team and remembers recruiting a different foreign prospect at the time.
Carmichael was in Germany recruiting Adriane Radtke, who played for the Bayern Munich women's team.
Bayern Munich is the most successful German sports club, so Carmichael said he was shocked to be at the facilities watching practice and recruiting there.
After practices, Radtke told Carmichael she was going to OSU if everything went according to plan. Carmichael also mentioned to Radtke he needed another goalie.
Radtke knew one.
"Radtke asked if I liked Katherin," Carmichael said. "I said, 'Yeah, she's really good.' And she mentioned she played for the Swiss National Team. Radtke said Katherin was jealous and wanted to go to the States, too.
"So I asked if she was around and Radkte called her up and we had coffee with Katherin and that's how we started recruiting her. She decided she wanted to be a Cowgirl and I was over the moon because wow, what a player."
The impact Lehmann left after just one year in Stillwater is clear when her former coaches mention her.
Carmichael said it's safe to say OSU doesn't win the 2003 Big 12 Championship without Lehmann as the starting goalie. She was named tournament defensive MVP.
He also said the competitiveness and mindset she brought with her from Europe is not seen from players from the States and was vital for the Cowgirls' success.
"She really helped us in the early days," Carmichael said. "She took us to another level. She drove the standard of our program. She did not like losing and that rubbed off on our team.
"Sometimes you have young American players who don't really know how to win at the highest level. Katherin played for her national team and played in Europe, so she brought that mentality with her, and I think that was crucial."
And to think, OSU, which doesn't offer women's scholarship hockey, can claim an Olympic hockey player.
Scroll through the Olympic participant list on OSU athletics webpage and you'll find names like Henry Iba and John Smith, among others, but Lehmann's is the sole name associated with the Winter Games. And it's listed twice.
Lehmann said her one year at OSU and being the school's only athlete to compete in the Winter Olympics is meaningful. She still has all the t-shirts she collected in her single season in Stillwater, although the shirts have faded from bright orange to white.
"It makes me proud," Lehmann said. "I am still a very proud Cowgirl. I have all my t-shirts still, I cannot throw them away. For me, the time at OSU is a very important time in my life.
"I got a lot of impact from the U.S. culture, from college sports, from Karen (Hancock), from Colin Carmichael. We were part of the first big wins there."
Â
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