Tulsa World: Cowgirls seek Sweet Sixteen appearance

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Cowgirls seek Sweet Sixteen appearance

By GLENN HIBDON World Sports Writer
Published: 11/14/2008 2:13 AM
Last Modified: 11/14/2008 3:16 AM

Making its third straight appearance in the women's NCAA soccer tournament, seventh-ranked Oklahoma State is looking for more than just a first-round victory.

Coach Colin Carmichael has guided the Cowgirls to a 17-1-3 record and the No. 4 seed when they meet Fairfield Friday at 4 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J. Should OSU win, it will face the winner between Penn State and Rutgers on Sunday.

"So far, so good. Let's hope we can continue our season for a few weeks,'' said Carmichael, whose Cowgirls lost in the second round the last two seasons. "We've gone into the season the last couple of years with goals of competing for the Big 12 Conference championship and getting into the NCAA tournament. We won the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time and that's quite an accomplishment.

"I don't know too much about Fairfield, but I know they won their conference (Metro Atlantic) and are 15-4-3. They've got Anna Johnson and she's their conference player of the year. Johnson has 15 goals and leads her team offensively. I also know they have a very good defense and haven't given up too many goals this season. Their defense is a big challenge because we have to break them up and score goals.''

Oklahoma State hasn't experienced problems in the offensive department. The Cowgirls lead the nation with 73 goals and are also No. 1 in average number of goals per game. Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Yolanda Odenyo from Uppsala, Sweden, has a league-leading 16 goals and four assists for 36 points. Kasey Langdon from Wylie, Texas, has 35 points followed by All-Big 12 second-teamer Siera Strawser of Bixby with 31.

"Yolanda was All-American two years ago and she's our focal point,'' said Carmichael. "Kasey led the Big 12 in assists with 12. Both made first-team All-Big 12 for us.

"We have several players from the Tulsa area, including Allyson Leggett and Sarah Brown from Jenks, Katie Richardson from Broken Arrow and Melinda Mercado from Sapulpa.

"Leggett is a starter on defense and Richardson started half our games at forward. Mercado has played in every game and is the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Brown comes off the bench.''

Carmichael is looking at the first round contest as OSU's offense versus Fairfield's defense. He's hoping the Cowgirls' scoring ability turns the tide.

"All year we've focused on what we need to do,'' said Carmichael. "We've talked little about our opposition and concentrated on how we play. We won't change that at this part of the season. Our defense doesn't get much credit because everybody talks about how many goals we've scored. Our goalkeeper (Erin Stigler) and our players at the back are unsung heroes.

"For sure this is the best season we've had and we want to get past the second round to the Sweet Sixteen. Obviously, we've got a lot of talent and the key is to play the same way we've always played. We definitely have to create chances to score and it's a matter of putting them away. We've been good at that most of the year.''"For sure this is the best season we've had and we want to get past the second round to the Sweet Sixteen. ''

OSU women's soccer coach Colin Carmichael

about the Cowgirls' postseason goals for the 2008 season

Glenn Hibdon 581-8396
glenn.hibdon@tulsaworld.com By GLENN HIBDON World Sports Writer

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