Cowgirl Soccer Hits It Big on All-Big 12 Team
(This story originated and was created by the Big 12 Conference and Oklahoma State University athletic media relations.)
IRVING, Texas – For the second consecutive season, Oklahoma State had five players selected as All-Big 12 Conference performers while a pair of Cowgirl freshmen were also honored.
Earning 2020 All-Big 12 First Team honors for the Cowgirls were defender Kim Rodriguez and forward Olyvia Dowell, while defender Charmé Morgan, midfielder Grace Yochum and forward Gabriella Coleman were named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
Additionally, defender and midfielder were chosen for the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, with Simon being a unanimous selection.
OSU's five All-Big 12 honorees marks just the fourth time in program history five or more Cowgirls have garnered all-conference recognition and is tied for the second-highest total in school history. A program-record seven Cowgirls earned All-Big 12 status in 2011 while OSU previously had five All-Big 12 performers in 2010 and 2019
We had 7⃣ Cowgirls collect all-conference honors for the 2020 season. And only once before have we had more All-Big 12 honorees.
— OSU Cowgirl Soccer (@CowgirlFC) November 18, 2020
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Rodriguez earned All-Big 12 First Team accolades for the second consecutive season, and the senior is now a three-time all-conference performer in her career. Both distinctions place her in rare company – she is only the sixth player in OSU history to earn first-team status twice or more in a career, and she is just the eighth Cowgirl to be named all-conference three or more times.
A native of Porter, Texas, Rodriguez helped anchor a defense that allowed just six goals and posted four shutouts. She also recorded an assist, bringing her career total to 17, just one shy of moving into the top-10 on OSU's all-time list.
Dowell was named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a sophomore after collecting second-team honors as a freshman last season. The Longview, Texas native tied for the OSU team lead with four goals, a total that also ranked fourth in the conference, and she led the league with 37 shots. Two of Dowell's scores were golden goals to lift the Cowgirls to wins over No. 4 West Virginia and Texas Tech.
A junior from Houston, Yochum collected All-Big 12 Second Team accolades a year after achieving first-team status. Yochum's four goals tied for the team lead and ranked fourth in the conference, and she ranks among the NCAA leaders with three game-winning goals. Of Yochum's 19 shots, 11 were on goal (58 percent).
Morgan picked up All-Big 12 Second Team recognition for the second-straight season. The senior from Frisco, Texas, fueled a defense that recorded four shutouts, and she was also key in the offensive attack, posting a pair of assists to tie for the team lead.
Another senior enjoying success, Coleman collected All-Big 12 honors for the first time in her career. The Texan finished with seven points on the strength of three goals and an assist, and she scored in each of OSU's first three games in 2020.
Simon made an immediate impact on the Cowgirls' back line in her first collegiate season. A native of Denton, Texas, Simon started all nine games and was a key cog in a defense that tallied four shutouts and allowed only six goals.
Dennis, who hails from Allen, Texas, played in all nine games this fall, earning a start in five of those and recording an assist in the win over Iowa State.
The all-conference awards are voted on by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
