Oct. 28, 2009

OSU Game Notes in PDF Format

Oklahoma State (11-7-0)
vs. Utah (8-8-2)
Thursday, Oct. 29 • 7 p.m.
Cowgirl Soccer Complex (1,450)

Oklahoma State
    Oklahoma State closes out the regular season Thursday with a non-conference match against Utah at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. Coach Colin Carmichael's squad is 11-7-0 and brings a four-game winning streak into the finale. With a 5-5-0 mark in Big 12 Conference play, the Cowgirls have clinched a berth in next week's Big 12 Soccer Championship in San Antonio. OSU is currently tied for third place in the conference standings.
    OSU, which has suffered six of its seven losses this season by one goal, has outscored its opponents 35-13 on the season, and 12 different players have collected goals. Annika Niemeier leads the scoring attack with eight goals, while five Cowgirls have recorded four goals apiece. Freshman goalkeeper AD Franch leads the Big 12 with eight shutouts, four of those coming in league play.

Utah
    The Utes are 8-8-2 overall, including 3-1-1 in their last five matches. They are tied for third in the Mountain West Conference. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
    Players To Watch: F Kelly Isleib, GK Hannah Turpen

In The Polls        
    OSU and Utah are both unranked in the national polls. The Cowgirls are seventh in the NSCAA/adidas Central Region rankings.

On The Air & The Web    
     Thursday's game will be carried live by Stillwater Radio and will air on KGFY 105.5 FM with Bill Van Ness calling the action. Links to the radio broadcast, as well as GameTracker live stats, can also be accessed via the internet at the official OSU Athletics website: www.okstate.com. Those links can be found under the Schedule/Results link on the soccer home page.

The Defense Never Rests
     One of the biggest reasons for OSU's increased success over the last several seasons are defenses that have been among the best in the Big 12 Conference.
     With one regular season game remaining in 2009, OSU leads the Big 12 with 10 shutouts, just two shy of the single-season school record. The Cowgirls have allowed only 13 goals and sport a 0.72 goals against average, both of which also lead the league.
     In 2008, OSU allowed just 18 goals and recorded 10 shutouts. The Cowgirls ranked third in the Big 12 in goals allowed and goals against average (0.75).
     The Cowgirls tied a school record with 12 shutouts in '06, and that total also tied OSU for the most blankings by a Big 12 team. Opponents attempted just 255 shots against the Cowgirls and only 16 of those found the back of the net. OSU ranked first in the league in goals allowed, and its 0.66 goals against average was also tops in the conference.
     OSU recorded 10 shutouts in 2007, which once again tied for the most in the Big 12, and the Cowgirls ranked among the conference's best in goals allowed (20), goals-against average (0.84) and save percentage (82.1).

Terrific Trio
     OSU's 2009 senior class -- Siera Strawser, Kasey Langdon and Bridget Miller -- has had quite a successful career during its time in Stillwater. On the current list of the winningest senior classes in Division I soccer, OSU's trio is tied for 13th with a record of 60-17-10 (.747). Among Big 12 Conference teams, only Texas A&M's senior class has more wins over the last four seasons with 64.

Records Are Made To Be Broken
     A pair of Cowgirls are climbing the OSU career charts and are on the verge of vaulting to the top of several of those lists.
     • Siera Strawser has 30 career goals, five shy of OSU's all-time mark, which is held by Yolanda Odenyo and Jolene Schweitzer.
     • Strawser is OSU's career leader in shots with 268.
     • With 17 career assists, Strawser needs just two more to move into the top five on OSU's all-time list.
     • Kasey Langdon needs just one assist to move into second all time at OSU. Langdon has racked up 24 assists in her first three seasons in Stillwater.
     • Langdon has 23 career goals, leaving her only one shy of moving into the top five on the Cowgirls' career list.
     • Strawser and Langdon rank fourth and sixth on OSU's all-time scoring list with 77 and 70 points. Odenyo's 90 points top the list.

Importing Offense
     Junior Annika Niemeier leads the Cowgirls with eight goals, five of those game winners. The German also leads the squad with four assists and 20 points.
     With 17 career goals, Niemeier ranks 10th on OSU's all-time list, and she is tied for seventh with 14 career assists.
     Niemeier leads OSU with 11 points in league play as she has recorded four goals and three assists against Big 12 Conference foes. Three of those goals were game winners.

Fabulous Freshmen
     OSU leads the Big 12 with eight shutouts, a 0.72 goals against average and 13 goals allowed.
     A big reason for OSU's staunch defense is a pair of freshmen -- goalie AD Franch and defender Carson Michalowski. Franch leads the Big 12 with eight shutouts a 0.66 goals against average and has recorded 49 saves. Michalowski has started every game at defender in her first season in Stillwater.
     Freshman Megan Marchesano is also tied for second on the team lead in goals with four.

More On AD
     Freshman goalkeeper AD Franch is having a record-setting rookie season in goal for the Cowgirls.
     A native of Salina, Kan., Franch already owns several OSU records and is on the verge of adding to that list. Among them:
     • Franch is tied with Erin Stigler (2006) for the most shutouts in a season with eight.
     • Franch's current goals against average of 0.66 would stand as the best ever in a season at OSU. Stigler's 0.71 mark in 2006 currently tops the list.
     • With eight shutouts, Franch already ranks fourth on OSU's career shutouts list. Stigler owns the all-time mark with 21.
     • Franch has recorded 49 saves, which ranks eighth on OSU's career list.
     • OSU's previous record for saves by a freshman was two by Bettina Grossman in 2005. The school record for goals against average by a freshman is 1.37, set by Breanna Truelove in 2004.