The Cowgirls open Big 12 play on the road as they aim to knock off the Iowa State University Cyclones and the Nebraska Cornhuskers and continue their scoring run.
The team travels to Ames, Iowa, on Friday night for the matchup against ISU before colliding with Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in Lincoln.
The Cowgirls are coming off a 2-0 victory against SMU and a disappointing scoreless draw against Colorado College. Soccer America ranks the team 13th in the nation.
Scoring goals has not been a problem for the Cowgirls, having scored 21 goals in eight matches and conceding only three. Senior midfielder Sasa Jackson leads the Cowgirls with five goals and two assists so far.
Sophomore forward Kasey Langdon and freshman forward Katie Richardson have found net three times and assisted on four goals each.
The Cowgirl defense and junior goalkeeper Erin Stigler have compiled a Big 12-leading five shutouts so far this season.
The Cornhuskers are 3-2-3 on the season, and are coming off a weekend where they smashed Saint Louis 5-1 and tied powerhouse Florida 1-1.
Midfielders Sari Raber and Jessie Bruch, who each have two goals and an assist this season, lead the team.
The Cornhuskers have had no trouble finding the back of the goal this season, having scored 12 goals in eight games. Goalkeeper Jessica Mills has a 1.0 goals against average, having allowed eight goals. She is coming off a weekend where she was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.
Forward Leslie Hill leads the Cyclones in points with six, having notched two goals and two assists this season.
The Cyclones are 4-1-2 on the season, with a 2-1 victory against Nevada and a 0-0 draw with UNLV this past weekend.
They have scored 10 goals this season, and have been decent defensively, only allowing five through seven matches.
Cowgirl coach Colin Carmichael said he is confident but recognized the challenges Nebraska and ISU present his team.
“Everybody in the Big 12 can beat each other, we certainly don’t take anybody for granted,” Carmichael said. “We’ve been on the lower side of it for a while and knocked some teams off, and now that we’ve kind of worked our way up, we are a target for those teams, so they will take their best shot. Nebraska just tied Florida, who I think were 10th in the nation at the time, so they are definitely a good team, and Iowa State I think are 4-1-2, so we won’t overlook anybody, it will be two hard games.”
Assistant coach Karen Hancock said the team is not overlooking the challenge even though it might appear the Cowgirls have the upper hand.
“I’m sure on paper we would be favored, and they would be the underdogs in these two matches, but I’ve been around too long to not know better,” Hancock said. “They will be tough challenges, historically, they have been tough opponents for us; everybody is tough in the Big 12, and that is made tougher by being on the road in the Big 12.
“Any time you go on the road in the Big 12 and get a result it’s a good weekend,” Hancock added. “We are not taking these teams lightly in any way, shape, or form. The Big 12 is very dangerous, and there are a lot of very good teams.”
Carmichael spoke of specific concerns regarding opening conference play up north in Iowa and Nebraska.
“It’s difficult, any time you play on the road it’s hard,” Carmichael said. “Going up north, the grass is longer and thicker and it slows the game down a little, and obviously for us we like to play a fast paced game.
“If you want to win championships these are the games you’ve got to win.”
Hancock said she agreed that the difference in grass would factor into the game.
“The grass is different, we are not used to the surface, and that is something that is certainly to the home team’s favor,” Hancock said. “But if you want to be a good team in any conference, you have to learn to deal with making adjustments, and that’s what this will be, and it will be a test for our program to see if we can go on the road and make the adjustments necessary to do well on their surface and do well on the road.
“It will be an unfriendly environment with unfriendly faces maybe, and fans that are not necessarily wearing orange all over the place.”
The Cowgirls are 4-5-2 all time against Iowa State, including a 3-2 win from last season.
The team has historically struggled against Nebraska, compiling a 2-9-0 record. One of those wins was a 2-0 drubbing last year in Stillwater.
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