Oct. 22, 2009
NO. 23 TIGERS RETURN TO WALTON STADIUM FOR FINAL HOME STAND
After consecutive road victories this past weekend, the University of Missouri women's soccer team (10-4-3, 5-0-2) will close out their regular season home schedule with games against Iowa State (7-6-4, 2-5-0) on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. and Nebraska (9-3-4, 3-2-2) on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. The Tigers will then travel to Lawrance, Kan., for their final regular season game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
Last Friday, Oct. 16, the Tigers thumped the Baylor Bears by a score of 5-0. Four different Tigers got on the board, with sophomore Jessie Crabtree the lone player to tally twice. Crabtree put the Tigers ahead in the third minute off of a cross from senior Bree Thornton, and netted again ten minutes later as an errant header in the Baylor box set Crabtree up to put her shot in the back of the net. Junior Kari Adam widened the Tiger lead in the 23rd minute after she fired home a rebound off an Alysha Bonnick shot to push the score to 3-0. Missouri added their fourth goal of the first half three minutes later off a throw-in by Adam. Sophomore Kendra Collins flicked the near-post service to Blincow, who volleyed it in for her first of the year and second of her career. In the 70th minute, Freshman Haley Krentz's corner kick was headed out by the Bears but Kristin Andrighetto was there and saw her long range shot go off the gloves of the Baylor keeper and trickle into the side netting. Missouri outshot the Bears 23-5 in their 5-0 victory.
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On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Tigers got yet another clutch overtime performance out of senior
Michelle Collins, as she sunk the Oklahoma Sooners 1-0 with her goal merely 27 seconds into the second overtime period. Missouri threatened to grab the lead throughout the match but saw two shots cleared off the line following corner kicks and Brittany Hopkins' effort in the 53rd minute was turned away by the crossbar. The Sooners' best scoring opportunity came in the 50th minute as junior forward Whitney Palmer capitalized on a defensive miscue. Dittamore made a superb save on the breakaway to keep the Big 12's leading goal scorer from finishing. The overtime scoring sequence started with senior
Kristin Andrighetto playing in an attacking midfielder role to start the final period. Andrighetto's perfectly paced through-ball found Collins streaking into the penalty area. The co-captain's low shot was deflected into the air by Oklahoma goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire but carried across the goal line to end the hard fought contest in dramatic fashion. The victory gave the Tigers their program-best eighth straight result and moved them into first place in the Big 12 standings.
UP NEXT
After closing out their regular season home schedule, the Tigers will head to Lawrence, Kan., for their final regular season game against Kansas on Friday, Oct. 30, at 3 p.m. The Big 12 Championship is slated to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in San Antonio, Texas.
WEAR BLACK AND SUPPORT THE TIGERS ON SENIOR NIGHT
Before this Friday's game against Iowa State at 6:30 p.m., the women's soccer team's seniors will be recognized for their contributions to the program. The 2009 batch of seniors has more wins as a class than any other senior class before them. In their four years at Missouri, the 2009 class has recorded 49 victories and posted a winning percentage of .642, both of which are tops all-time.
Fans are encouraged to wear black for Friday night's game in order to show their support for the Big 12-leading Tigers.
GETTING TO KNOW IOWA STATE
The Iowa State Cyclones (7-6-4, 2-5-0) are 1-3-0 in their last four games, but are coming off a 1-0 home victory over Texas, their first win over the Longhorns since 1999. The Cyclones currently rank last in the Big 12 in total points, shots, and assists in 2009.
Freshman Amanda Woelfel leads the team in points with 10, having notched a team-leading four goals as well as two assists in 2009. Senior midfielder Casey Bothwell is second with eight points, tallying three goals and two assists so far this season.
Senior goalkeeper Ann Gleason has played every minute between the pipes for Iowa State this season, and ranks second in the Big 12 in goals against average (0.89), saves (67), and shutouts (5). Iowa State Head Coach Wendy Dillinger is in her first season at the helm, and has directed Iowa State to a 70604 overall record in 2009. Missouri leads the all-time series between the two schools 8-4-1.
GETTING TO KNOW NEBRASKA
The Nebraska Cornhuskers (9-3-4, 3-2-2) are 4-1-1 in the last six games, most recently upsetting then-No. 14 Texas A&M by a score of 2-1.
The Cornhuskers are lead by the nation's leading scorer, freshman Morgan Marlborough. Marlborough has scored 21 goals in 16 games played this season, and currently leads the Big 12 in points (46), goals (21), and goals per game (2.88). Marlborough trails only Missouri's Kristin Andrighetto in total shots, as she has recorded 76 so far this season. Marlborough opened scoring in the 19th minute of Nebraska's 2-1 victory over then-No. 14 Texas A&M, and notched the game winner as well in the 82nd minute to help the Cornhuskers seal the upset. AGE Molly Thomas is second on the team in points with 17, tallying six goals and five assists so far in 2009.
Goalkeepers Tara Macdonald and Jessica Mills have split the majority of the time in goal this season, and have combined for 66 saves and 19 goals allowed so far this season. Nebraska Head Coach John Walker is 234-89-21 at Nebraska and is currently in his 17th season in charge. Nebraska is winning the all-time series against Missouri with a 14-3-0 record over the Tigers.
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 is tied for second in goals (32), fourth in game winning goals (nine), and fifth in career points (82). Michelle Collins is tied for fourth in game winning goals (nine), sixth in assists (20), seventh points (72), and tied for seventh in goals (26). Bonnick, as a junior, has become the all-time career leader in game winning goals (13), is tied for seventh in goals (26), and eighth in points (69).
Senior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore has set herself apart in her career with the Tigers. She is now the all-time career leader in shutouts (15) and goals against average (1.04), and is currently tied for first in wins (32), third goals against (54), runner-up in win percentage (.727), and is fifth in saves (167).
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 (seven seniors, four juniors) and 16 underclassmen (six 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.
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.
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.
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.
So far this season, Bonnick is fourth on the team in points with 11, notching four goals and three assists in 2009.
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.
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.
