Junior midfielder Siera Strawser had her best game of the year Sunday, scoring three goals in OSU’s 5-1 victory at Xavier. The undefeated Cowgirls return home to host a pair of games this weekend.
She didn’t have to come here.
Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma recruited her.
But Siera Strawser chose OSU as the forum to showcase her talent, and coach Colin Carmichael couldn’t be happier.
“I’ve been watching Siera since she was 11,” he said. “We had a good connection with her. We made her a pretty good offer, and she accepted early.”
Strawser was a three-time all-district selection while at Bixby High School, scoring 89 goals during that time. She was also named to the All-State team.
Before coming to Stillwater, Strawser was also a member of the Hurricane ’89 club team, where she was a 2003 regional semifinalist and a finalist in 2004 and 2005.
“The coaches [at the club level] try and get you ready for the physical aspect of the college game,” Strawser said. “I learned a lot from just traveling around and playing in front of big crowds.”
Carmichael said Strawser wasn’t a nationally known recruit, but regionally she was on everyone’s radar.
“She wasn’t getting recruited by Texas A&M, Texas and other schools like that, but schools in Oklahoma and Kansas were really looking at her,” he said. “We felt like she had a lot to give once she got to college.”
Strawser said she chose OSU because she liked the town and the people made her want to stay.
“The girls helped, too,” she said. “I hung out with some of them and they seemed nice.”
The feeling was mutual. Junior Kasey Langdon said everyone on the team likes Strawser and she exhibits a level of confidence that the team can get behind.
“She makes her presence known on the field,” Langdon said. “She practices like she plays, and she always comes ready to go. It’s not hard to follow something like that.”
Strawser, a junior midfielder, led the team in goals last season with eight and is tied for second this season with four.
“I play near the goal, so obviously I want to score,” Strawser said. “But I usually go into a game just trying to do the best I can. I want to go out there and give it all I have each game.”
Two years ago, as a freshman, Strawser earned freshmen All-American honors and was a member of the Big 12 All-Newcomer team. She started 21 games and finish second on the team in goals with five. Carmichael and his staff saw this coming.
“We knew she was a special player from day one,” he said. “Everyone knew she could perform, and it’s really panned out for us.”
Carmichael said it was important to keep someone like Strawser in the state, and he hopes the trend continues.
“Six or seven years ago, much of the talent in this state left to go to perceived bigger and better programs,” Carmichael said. “We’ve been able to keep a lot of girls here, which is nice for the program, and it was important that we kept Siera and girls like her.”
Strawser said there’s a woman’s league starting in 2009. When her time with the Cowgirls is over, she said she would love to play in the league, but for now Strawser wants to finish her nutritional sciences degree.
When asked what Strawser brings to the team, Carmichael said simply, “She scores goals.”
Loading ...
All Articles