Goals In Mind

OURTNEY DIKE can’t

Growing up in Edmond, Okla., Dike recalls being somewhat of an anomaly on the playground — other kids were playing hopscotch or basketball or swinging and climbing. But not Dike, who was always on the lookout for someone who wanted to kick a ball.

“I REMEMBER PLAYING ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY, AND I WAS ONE OF THE FEW WHO JUST WANTED TO PLAY SOCCER. THAT’S WHEN I KNEW IT WAS MY THING,” DIKE SAID. (PRONOUNCED DEE-KAY) comes by her passion for soccer honestly. Her parents, Vincent and Jacinta, are natives of Nigeria, an African nation that like much of the world is crazy for the sport.

“Soccer is something I was basically born into,” Dike said. “I remember always being on the sidelines at my brother’s games, and at home it was either soccer or the news on TV.

“We definitely fell into it early. I had a choice, but I looked up to my older brother and wanted to be like him so soccer was what I did.”

In her older brother, Bright, she had an impressive performer to emulate.

Bright starred collegiately at NOTRE DAME before embarking on a MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER career that began with Portland and now has him in a Toronto uniform. Also a member of the NIGERIAN NATIONAL TEAM, he would have been on NIGERIA’S 2014 WORLD CUP roster had he not su ered an Achilles injury in February.

“(BRIGHT IS) THE ULTIMATE INSPIRATION FOR ME. HE’S WORKED SO HARD ALL HIS LIFE AND PUT ALL HIS EFFORT AND ENERGY INTO PLAYING SOCCER,” DIKE SAID. “When he got injured, it hit me hard, but it motivates me to not take things for granted. It makes you want to always play your best and make the most of your opportunities.”

Following her older brother’s example, Dike did just that in her first season in an Oklahoma State uniform in 2013.

She started 21 of OSU’s 22 games as a freshman and racked up 13 goals, four assists and 30 points, finishing second in the Big 12 Conference in both goals and points.

“(DIKE) DID EVERYTHING WE ASKED OF HER AND MORE,” SAID OSU HEAD COACH COLIN CARMICHAEL. “To get 13 goals is amazing when you consider our schedule and the di culty of the competition we played. There weren’t many games in there where she had an opportunity to score three or four goals. It was all done against very good opponents.

“She did everything we hoped she could do. We didn’t know she would do that, but we knew she had the ability to be special.”

Dike’s rookie campaign saw her tie for the fourth-most goals in a single season in program history, while also ranking in the top 10 on the Cowgirls’ single-season points chart.

But if you think the Cowgirls’ 5-foot-6 forward is content with what she accomplished in 2013, you don’t know Courtney Dike.

“It just puts more pressure on me to do well. I definitely want to do better than I did last year,” said Dike, who was named to the All-Big 12 second team and also earned a spot on the league’s all-newcomer team.

“I know I can do it, and it’s a challenge I’m excited, to see how far I can go and how much I can improve.

“It seems like I did well, but there’s so much more I could have done. I’m excited to see what I’ve learned and how I can improve, whether that’s scoring more goals or helping my teammates score. Whatever I can do to make our team better is my focus.”

Dike’s impact on OSU was immediately felt in her first season — her impressive play helped the Cowgirls turn in a 9-7-6 record and return to the NCAA Tournament.

Needless to say, Carmichael was glad to have Dike in the mix, something that almost didn’t happen.

Carmichael and his sta thought highly of Dike, who starred at Edmond North High School and the Oklahoma Football Club. But with a recruiting class filled and already including several attacking players, the Cowgirls didn’t have the scholarship money to o er — at least initially.

But sometimes things have a way of working out, and in OSU and Dike’s case, it did just that, and the opportunity to bring Dike’s talents to Stillwater came to fruition.

Even then, however, Carmichael wasn’t quite sure what he was getting in Dike.

“We knew her upside was huge — she’s a tremendous athlete, she’s very strong. We were just curious how that raw athleticism would translate to the college game,” Carmichael said.

“Yeah, she kind of proved that it translated pretty well.”

Opportunities like the one a orded Dike are a big reason why Courtney’s parents immigrated to the United States in the early 1980s.

Vincent played soccer through high school while Jacinta was one of the topranked badminton players in Nigeria. The couple came to the United States to further their education and job opportunities, and they chose Oklahoma as their U.S. destination simply because Vincent’s brother had a friend there and they would know someone upon arrival.

“It’s a huge blessing for me to be (at OSU). I never expected it and when it happened and I got here … it’s the best atmosphere. The coaches are honest and personable, and OSU is just a great place to be. I de nitely have all the resources I need to become the person I want to be, either with my degree or with soccer.”

Dike experienced her Nigerian ancestry for the first time in 2012 when her family visited the country at Christmas. She had been there as an infant but this trip a orded her the chance to meet many of her African relatives.

“It was great getting to see the people my parents grew up with and getting to know everyone that we’d never met,” Dike said. She also got to experience the country’s passion for its — and her — sport of choice.

“THERE WAS A LOT OF SOCCER PLAYED — ALL NIGHT, WHEN WE WOKE UP, THERE ALWAYS SEEMED TO BE A GAME GOING ON,” DIKE SAID. “IT WAS AMAZING.”

Dike’s Nigerian roots may also help her aspirations of following in her older brother’s footsteps. She was recently invited to attend training camp with the Under-20 Nigerian national team.

To further her national team opportunities, Dike’s mission is to keep doing what she’s done her whole life — score goals. She had 94 of them in four seasons at ENHS and countless more at the club level before her baker’s dozen for the Cowgirls a year ago.

Not surprisingly, Dike ranks finding the back of the net foremost among her favorite aspects of playing the game.

“I love to score — I love that feeling,” Dike said. “A goal is just the icing on the cake, the celebration of all the hard work leading up to it.

“And I love the teamwork and that even within a team, you can be yourself and be creative. I wouldn’t like completely depending on myself or me completely depending on someone else. It’s definitely a fun mix.”

The jubilation of scoring goals playing the game she loves is something Dike aims to continue for three more years in Stillwater. Carmichael has challenged her.

“She raised the bar so high as a freshman, she’s going to have her work cut out for her to keep that level going” — and she’s ready to meet that challenge head on,” he said.

“Going in as a freshman, you don’t know what to expect, and I think I definitely surprised some people,” Dike said. “I think I did well, but I definitely feel I have a lot more room to grow and improve. I know what I need to work on — that became pretty obvious as the season went on.

“You don’t get very many chances so you better make the most of them. I’m working on consistency in my level of play so I can get more of those chances.

“I HAD A GOOD SEASON, BUT THERE ARE BETTER ONES TO COME FOR SURE.”

Should Dike continue on her current path, she will one day challenge OSU’s career record for goals, which stands at 35 and is held by former ALL-AMERICAN YOLANDA ODENYO and JOLENE SCHWEITZER.

It’s not just the soccer pitch where Dike is a star. There are plenty of brains to go along with all that athletic ability. A student in the OSU HONORS COLLEGE , Dike is majoring in accounting with a minor in Spanish and carries a sparkling 3.91 grade point average.

“It’s a huge blessing for me to be (at OSU),” Dike said. “I never expected it and when it happened and I got here … it’s the best atmosphere. The coaches are honest and personable, and OSU is just a great place to be. I definitely have all the resources I need to become the person I want to be, with my degree and with soccer.”

And Carmichael has no doubts that the sky is the limit for his sophomore forward.

“She’s a great kid — trains really hard o the field, makes great grades, never any issues socially — she’s just a wonderful student-athlete,” Carmichael said. “Sometimes people talk about our athletes and don’t give them enough credit for what they do off the field, and Courtney takes care of her business the right way and is a great representative for OSU and Cowgirl soccer on and off the field.”