Aug. 27, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Coming off a last-minute victory one week ago at Iowa, the University of Missouri women's soccer team kicks off the home portion of their 2009 season as they welcome two Chicago-area schools to Columbia, first facing the Northwestern Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, August 28th at Walton Stadium. The match is the first of a four consecutive home games as the Tigers (1-0-0) also host the DePaul Blue Demons at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Missouri, ranked as high as 11th in the nation and picked to finish first in the Big 12 coaches preseason poll, is coming off a record setting 2008 season that culminated with a Big 12 Championship and second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In their 14th season in program history, all under head coach Bryan Blitz, the Tigers hope to build off their 16-5-2 record a year ago with the introduction of 10 newcomers and two new assistant coaches in 2009.
LAST TIME OUT
The Tigers kicked off the season with a road test against Big Ten opponent Iowa last Friday. After taking a first half lead on a goal by senior striker Kristin Andrighetto, Missouri fell behind 2-1 as the Hawkeyes struck just before and just after halftime. Iowa's advantage held until the 85th minute when senior forward Michelle Collins capitalized on a Missouri corner kick to pull the Tigers even. Collins' late goal setup a dramatic finish as sophomore forward Jessie Crabtree scored the first goal of her collegiate career with 56 seconds remaining to earn Missouri a come-from-behind 3-2 victory and improve the Tigers to 8-0-0 all time against Iowa.
UP NEXT
Missouri rounds out the four-game home stand next weekend with the arrival of Rhode Island and Long Beach State to Columbia. Both teams will be first time opponents for the Tigers and the non-conference match-ups will represent the third and fourth different conferences Missouri has faced in their first give games (Big Ten, Big East, Atlantic 10, and Big West).
MU PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN BIG 12
For the first time in program history, the Tigers were picked to finish first in the Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference's coaches. Missouri and Texas A&M tied atop the league standings in cumulative voting points, with the Tigers receiving four of the 11 first place votes. 2008 Big 12 Championship runner-up Colorado came in third with 76 points, while `08 regular season champions Oklahoma State were tabbed fourth with 68 points. Perennial power Texas finished fifth, followed by Kansas, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor, and Iowa State.
THREE TIGERS NAMED ALL-BIG 12
For the second year in a row, the Preseason All-Big 12 Team featured three Missouri Tigers. Seniors Crystal Wagner, Meghan Pfeiffer, and Andrighetto were all selected to the conference preseason team as voted on by league coaches. The three selections were the second most of any team, trailing only Texas A&M's four honorees. Andrighetto is a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection and Pfeiffer is a two-time All-Big 12 Second Team selection; both players received the recognitions their sophomore and junior seasons.
GETTING TO KNOW NORTHWESTERN
The Wildcats (0-1-1) opened their 2009 campaign with a scoreless tie at home to a strong Wisconsin-Milwaukee side, before falling 3-2 at nearby foe DePaul last weekend. Head Coach Stephanie Erickson, a Northwestern alum in her fourth season at the helm, returns six starters and 21 letter winners from a 2008 team that went 10-9-1 (5-5-0) and finished tied for fifth in the competitive Big Ten conference.
Northwestern is led by senior Alicia Herczeg who started all 20 games last season and scored her first goal of the year last weekend. Though the Wildcats lose two of their top three scorers from `08, junior striker Sam Greene returns after co-leading the team with 14 points on three goals and eight assists last season, the fourth most single-season assists in program history. On the defensive end, 2008 Big Ten All-Freshman team defender Leigh Jakes and junior goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards returns after starting every match last season and has already recorded a shutout in 2009.
The all-time series between Missouri and Northwestern is tied at 3-3-0 with MU prevailing in the last three meetings, most recently in 2006 with a 4-0 win.
GETTING TO KNOW DEPAUL
The Blue Demons (2-0-0) are off to a fast start in 2009, winning emphatically over cross-town rival Loyola-Chicago and then securing their first-ever victory over Northwestern to open their season last weekend. Head Coach Erin Chastain is in her third season at DePaul and looks to improve upon last year's seventh place finish in the Big East's National Division (4-15-0, 2-9-0).
The DePaul offense has led the way in '09 with seven goals in two games. Junior midfielder Tara Strickland, reigning Big East Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Blue Demons with two goals after recording a team-high seven points last season. Sophomore Michelle Scandora returns to the midfield as DePaul's leading goalscorer in 2008 with three strikes as she appeared in every match for the Blue Demons as a freshman. Defensively, DePaul welcomes a new goalkeeper in freshman Claire Hanold who's been credited with four saves and a shutout already this season.
MIZZOU SOCCER IN THE TOP 25
The Tigers entered the 2009 season ranked in every national poll after finishing 2008 as high as 10th in the nation. Soccer America magazine rates Missouri highest at No. 11 in their poll released this week, while the Tigers moved up three spots to No. 13 in Soccer Times Top 25. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America ranks the Tigers at No. 22 nationally, and No. 4 in the Central Region. Finally, TopDrawerSoccer ranks MU 20th in their 64-team tournament rankings.
BONNICK ON HERMANN WATCH LIST
Junior striker Alysha Bonnick is in consideration for one of the top recognitions in the sport with the NSCAA's announcement of the 2009 Hermann Trophy Watch List. Bonnick is one of 45 players in the country on the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) list of potential award winners, and just one of five from the Big 12 conference. The Ontario, Canada native led Missouri in scoring last season with 26 points en route to earning Soccer Buzz All-America fourth team honors and All-Big 12 First Team accolades. Bonnick was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2007 after recording 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists, all Missouri freshman records.
THREE TIGERS INVITED TO US U-23's
Pfeiffer, Wagner, and Collins all received call-ups to travel to England with the United States U-23 National Team in July for two games against the English U-23 National Team and a match versus the Reading women's club. Only Wagner was able to accept the invitation, and the senior co-captain appeared in all three matches for the USA while abroad. Wagner led a Tigers' defense that set school records in 2008 with 12 shutouts and a 0.80 goals against average, earning Soccer Buzz All-Central region second team and NSCAA/adidas All-Central region third team honors.
TOUGH SCHEDULE TO TEST TIGERS
Missouri's 2009 schedule features four reigning conference champions, eight teams that were in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, and teams from nine different conferences across the country. The Tigers will play in two weekend tournaments in September, first travelling to Alabama to face host Auburn and fellow SEC rival Vanderbilt. The following weekend, Mizzou goes on the road to Los Angeles for the UCLA Invitational to play Loyola Marymount and a marquee matchup with preseason No. 3 UCLA.
ANDRIGHETTO MOVES INTO FIRST
It took just one game in 2009 for senior striker Andrighetto to leap from third to first in the Missouri record books for most career shots. The Pleasant Hill, Calif. native was credited with four shots taken last Friday against Iowa - including the game's opening goal - which gives her 270 in her four years as a forward and moved her past alum Nikke Thole (1997-2000) for first place on the chart. Andrighetto is a two-time All-Big 12 first team selection, and was a Soccer Buzz Central Region second team honoree last season.
TIGERS TOUGH AT HOME
As the Tigers begin their four game home stand this weekend, and with ten home games on the schedule, Missouri will be hoping to continue the home field advantage they demonstrated a season ago. In 2008, MU set the school mark for most home wins in a season, going 10-2-1 and outscoring opponents 30-7 at the friendly confines of Walton Stadium. Highlighted by a 1-0 win over then No. 15 Colorado, Missouri fans got to see some great action in Columbia last year including a nationally televised ESPNU match against Texas and the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history.
RECORDS TO WATCH IN 2009
Several players are poised to make a move on the Mizzou Soccer record books this season in the career statistical categories. Andrighetto sits in fourth for game winning goals (9), and sixth for both career points (71) and goals (28). Collins is sixth in game winning goals (7), tied for seventh in points (58), and eighth in assists (16) and goals (21). Bonnick, as a junior, ranks third in game winning goals (10), and seventh on both points (58) and goals (22).
Senior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore has set herself apart with a standout 2008 season in net for the Tigers. She currently holds the top spot on the career charts in goals against average (0.95) and goals against (32), is runner-up in win percentage (.727) and shutouts (13), ranks third in wins (23), and sits in seventh in saves (105). Despite transferring as a sophomore from the University of Dayton, Dittamore is fourth in career minutes (3,044:26) and games played (36), and fifth in games started (34).
As a team, the Tigers carry over one active streak from the 2008 season: Missouri is in the midst of a program-best 19 consecutive games without being shutout.
NEW LOOK TIGERS IN 2009
The Tigers return eight starters and 15 of 21 letter winners from their successful 2008 squad, but there are plenty of new faces as the Tigers kick off the 2009 campaign. Missouri signed one of its largest incoming classes in program history with the arrival of nine freshmen and a senior transfer for the 2009 season. Freshmen goalkeeper Jessica Gwin and freshman midfielder Haley Krentz were both named to TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100 Players to Watch, while Michelle Makasini comes to Columbia from LSU after earning TopDrawerSoccer All-American honors as a freshman and sophomore.
All told, the Tigers have a balance of 11 upperclassmen (7 seniors, 4 juniors) and 16 underclassmen (6 sophomores, 10 freshmen) that hail from nine different states and Canada. Additionally, three new coaches will be on the sideline for the Tigers. Shaunna Daugherty, formerly an assistant at Illinois State, and Todd Shulenberger, from Clemson, join the Missouri coaching staff as assistants, while volunteer assistant Danny Graville enters his first season in charge of fitness and conditioning for the team.
NEW LOOK VIDEO BOARD AT WALTON
Mizzou soccer spectators will enjoy a new video board and sound system at Walton Stadium this season. Installed by Daktronics, Inc., the 21 feet by 12 feet, full color display is one of four new state-of-the-art displays to be added to Missouri athletic facilities. The board will be display match statistics, marketing information, and live scores, with video features expected to be added as the season progresses.
MIZZOU SOCCER ONLINE
In addition to the official news, photos, statistics, and more available on mutigers.com, the Missouri soccer program is complementing the team's coverage for all those who follow Mizzou Soccer Online. The supplementary sites include a Twitter account for instant updates on the team, a YouTube channel to post match footage and media coverage, a Facebook Fan Page for news and information, and ThisIsMizzouSoccer.com which features a team blog, podcasts, and much more. The Tigers are excited to continue highlighting their program in the national spotlight via all of these resources and to provide up close and timely coverage of the team for fans, alumni, and recruits.
