Oct. 23, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The No. 16 University of Missouri soccer team welcomes the Baylor Bears on Friday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. for a conference clash at Walton Stadium. The Tigers (11-4-0, 6-2-0) sit in third place in the Big 12 conference with an opportunity to gain ground in pursuit of their first conference championship. All fans are encouraged to wear black as part of the team’s blackout promotion this weekend. The Tigers also play host to No. 10 Texas on Sunday, Oct. 26th at 1:00 p.m. at Walton Stadium. Admission is free for all fans as the Tigers try to break the attendance record in a match that will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU on tape delay at 4:30 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Tigers recorded their biggest upset of the season last Sunday, as they upended No. 6 Texas A&M 3-0 in College Station, Texas. The victory was the second on the weekend for Missouri after they closed out their non-conference schedule last Friday with a 6-1 win over Francis Marion (2-12-1).
Six different Missouri players netted goals in the Friday fixture as the Tigers won at home for the seventh consecutive match, which tied the Missouri record. Junior forward Michelle Collins started the scoring in the 13th minute on a misclearance by a Patriot defender. Sophomore striker Alysha Bonnick doubled the Missouri lead seven minutes later, tallying her team-high seventh goal and third game winner of the season. Junior defender Kat Tarr recorded her first goal of the season minutes before halftime as she headed home a corner kick from Hamblin, the first of two assists for the senior striker on the night. In the second half, junior midfielder Bree Thornton scored on a long-range shot from the right corner of the penalty area in the 53rd minute. Sophomore striker Kari Adam then scored on a header after a well-timed run into the goal box in the 72nd minute before sophomore midfielder Krista Kruse closed out the scoring with her first goal of the season in the 89th minute.
The Tigers’ explosive attack took to the road for Sunday’s contest against the Aggies (12-3-1, 5-2-1) and picked up right where it left off, scoring three goals on an A&M squad that had only allowed two goals in its seven conference games combined this season. The Missouri victory, nationally televised live on ESPNU, snapped Texas A&M’s 18 game home winning streak, marking the first loss suffered at Aggie Soccer Stadium since 2005. Three different Tigers scored in their second straight game, the first coming from Hamblin in the 31st minute off a cross from freshman forward Candace Ruff. Hamblin proved pivotal in the second goal as well, playing a perfect pass to Adam who buried a hard shot from the right side of the box with less than three minutes remaining in the first half. Kruse added the third in the 88th minute on a well-placed header from senior captain Janelle Cordia’s free kick from midfield. Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore and the Missouri defense stifled an A&M offense that entered the weekend ranked No. 14 in the nation in scoring. The shutout - the first time A&M had been held scoreless at home in 2008 – was the eighth of the year for the Tigers, setting a new single season school record and extending Dittamore’s single season record to seven.
Tigers in the Polls
Following the pair of successful results, Missouri climbed four spots to No. 16 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings this week, tying their highest spot in the polls this season. This week also marks the first time the Tigers are ranked in all five national polls, coming in at No. 20 in Soccer America, No. 24 in Soccer Buzz, No. 18 in Soccer Times, and No. 20 in the NSCAA/adidas coaches’ poll. Missouri also improved to fourth in the NSCAA/adidas Central Region Rankings this week.
Hamblin Receives Weekly Honors
Following a breakout weekend in which she collected five points, her first of the season, Hamblin was selected to two national teams of the week. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week, as well as Soccer Buzz’s Elite Feet Team of the Week, both announced on Tuesday.
After earning two assists in the 6-1 win over Francis Marion, Hamblin scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in the team’s 3-0 upset at No. 6 Texas A&M on Sunday. This is the second time Hamblin has received recognition from both publications, after doing so in a sophomore season where she led the Tigers with 15 points on five goals and five assists. Hamblin now has eight goals and 13 assists in her college career.
Break the Attendance Record on Sunday
Missouri soccer is offering free admission to all fans for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against No. 10 Texas as part of their Break the Attendance Record promotion. The event, in association with Mizzou Homecoming weekend, will aim to top the 1,926 attendance mark that turned out for Missouri’s matchup with Memphis in 2001. The team will host a free youth soccer clinic following the game and all fans are encouraged to wear black as part of Mizzou soccer’s “blackout” weekend. The game will be nationally broadcast by ESPNU on tape delay at 4:30 p.m.
Conference Play Nearly Complete
With three home games remaining on their Big 12 schedule, Missouri currently sits in third place in the conference standings with 15 points, trailing second-place Texas A&M by one point and first-place Colorado by four points. Due to games in hand, the Tigers now control their own destiny in their pursuit for the conference championship. If Missouri secures the maximum nine points out of their remaining three matches, the Tigers would finish in first place for the first time in school history. In the result of a tie in points, Missouri holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with wins over both teams currently ahead of them in the standings. Fourth place Oklahoma State looms one point behind the Tigers in the standings with three games to play as well.
As expected, the Big 12 has proven to be one of the toughest conferences in the nation this season, with as many as five teams currently in Soccer America’s top 25 national rankings: No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 14 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Colorado, and No. 20 Missouri. Coming off a fourth place finish in 2007, the Tigers were picked to finish third behind Texas and Texas A&M in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll.
Strong Start to 2008 Season
The Tigers’ 11-4-0 start this season matches the best start to a season in program history, compiling the same record after 15 games as last season and in 1999. Missouri can best both the 1999 and 2007 seasons with a win on Friday over Baylor. Similarly, the team’s 5-2-0 start to Big 12 play equals last season’s start to conference competition, and is second only to the 6-1-0 start in 1999.
The Tigers are one win shy of both the school record for regular season wins (achieved three times: 2007, 2001 and 1999) and conference wins (achieved twice: 2007 and 1999).
RPI Rankings
The NCAA revealed the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) power rankings of the 2008 season on Oct. 7th, with the Tigers landing at No. 22 on the list. The RPI weights a team’s strength of schedule in relation to their performance and will be updated throughout the remainder of the season. The top 25 ranking rewards Missouri’s challenging non-conference schedule in which the Tigers faced quality teams from the Big Ten, SEC, and Pac-10 conferences.
The RPI rankings are also used in the selection process for the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Missouri received at an-large bid and the right to host as the Tigers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling in double overtime to eventual national champions USC.
Tigers on National Television
ESPNU selected the Tigers for two of their four regular season NCAA women’s soccer broadcasts this season. Mizzou’s 3-0 win at No. 6 Texas A&M last Sunday aired live on the national network, and this Sunday’s matchup with the No. 10 Longhorns at 1 p.m. will be shown on a tape delay at 4:30 p.m.
The games feature three of the top teams in the Big 12 last year, with both contests rematches of dramatic games a season ago. In their 2007 conference opener, Missouri upset No. 4 Texas A&M 3-2 in double overtime on an Andrighetto goal with 32 seconds remaining in front of 1,545 fans at Walton Stadium. Nearly a month later on the road at No. 7 Texas, the Tigers scored twice in the opening 10 minutes before the Longhorns fought back for a 3-2 overtime win.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins and US Women’s National Team defender Cat Whitehill call the action from the broadcast booth for both matchups.
All Out Attack
After a slow first few games to the season, the Missouri offense has been producing plenty of goals as of late -- 31 in its last 10 games – and the onslaught has been via a collective effort. The Tigers’ 33 goals this season have come from 13 different players, with Kruse, Hamblin, and Tarr each earning their first goals of the season last weekend. A total of 16 players have tallied at least a point, as both Cordia and Ruff earned their first assists of the season last weekend. Bonnick leads the team with seven goals and 15 points, followed by Michelle Collins and junior forward Kristin Andrighetto, who each have 14 points in 2008. Missouri has only been shutout once this season and has scored multiple goals in 11 of their last 12 games.
Starting Strong as of Late
After not scoring a goal in the first half in the team’s first five games this season, Missouri has now struck in the opening half in each of its last 10. The Tigers’ defense has followed suit, not allowing a first-half goal in the team’s last six games. The early leads have proven to be a successful formula for the Tigers are 11-2-0 when scoring first and 7-1-0 when leading at the half.
Tigers Among League Leaders
Within conference play so far this season, Missouri is third in shots (144), goals (15) and points (41), while coming in fourth in assists (11), goals allowed (6) and goals against average (0.83). The team leads the conference in shutouts, earning clean sheets in five of their seven conference matches thus far.
Within Big 12 play, three Tiger scorers have risen the ranks. Andrighetto is first in points (11), points per game (1.57), goals (five), goals per game (0.71) and game winning goals (two). Michelle Collins also is atop the charts in assists per game (0.67), second in assists (four) and third in points per game (1.33). Bonnick is third in the conference in goals per game (0.57), fourth in goals (four) and points per game (1.29), and fifth in points (nine). Finally, Dittamore leads the Big 12 in all competition with seven shutouts and a 0.49 shutouts per game average, as well as within Big 12 play with four shutouts and a 0.57 shutouts per game average.
Andrighetto, Dittamore Climbing the Charts
Andrighetto is making her mark felt on the Missouri career record books this season. Having already moved up the career charts to fifth for shots on goal, fourth on the career shots list and sixth on the Tigers’ career points chart this season, Andrighetto’s game winning goal in the upset win over No. 15 Colorado on Oct. 3 was her ninth of her college career, moving her into a tie for third place on the Missouri career game winning goal list with Jennifer Nobis (2002-05). Andrighetto was an All-Big 12 first team selection as a sophomore last season, only the second Missouri player to ever receive such recognition, after tallying 14 goals and nine assists.
On the other end of the field, Dittamore’s victory at Texas A&M last Sunday was her 17th career win, and moved her into third place on the Missouri career victories list, passing senior teammate Mallory Forst and recent graduate Laura Buehrig (2004-05). The Granite City, Ill., native’s 11 victories this season ties her for second place on the single season school record, one shy of Jackie Adamec’s 12 wins in 1999. Dittamore, a 2007 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team selection, has twice won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and has set a new single season school record with seven shutouts in 2008.
Tigers Take Advantage of Depth
Head Coach Bryan Blitz has been making the most of his roster in Missouri’s 2008 campaign. All 19 field players used thus far have seen nearly 300 minutes of action and with sophomore midfielder Kelsey Stokes’ two starts last weekend, all have been selected to start as least one game. Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore leads the team with 1,326 minutes, while Forst earned her first extensive minutes of the season as she entered for the second half of last Friday’s 6-1 victory. Missouri’s veteran backline of senior Janelle Cordia, senior Kat Tarr, and junior Crystal Wagner have all logged over 1,250 minutes, the most of any field players. Of the incoming class, top-75 recruit Kelsey Blincow has become the most consistent starter earning 847 minutes, while Mallory Stipetich has come off the bench to earn five points for the Tigers this season.
Scouting Baylor
The Bears (5-9-2, 1-5-1) enter Friday’s contest in ninth place in the conference standings and on a four-match losing streak after falling to Oklahoma 1-0 on Sunday.
The Baylor attack, which scored a Big 12 season high 10 goals against Prairie View A&M last month, is led by senior Andi Fagan with four goals and two assists. Both sophomore Gianna Quintana and redshirt freshman Courtney Seelhorst have split time in net for the Bears this season, as Baylor has been outscored 13-2 in seven conference contests this season.
First year Head Coach Marci Jobson’s squad, 0-4-1 on the road this season, was picked to finish last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll after finishing 10th a season ago in which they went 5-10-4 overall and 1-8-1 in the Big 12. Missouri leads the all-time series with an 8-6-0 record against the Bears, having won 4-2 in Waco, Texas in 2007.
Scouting Texas
The Longhorns (10-2-3, 3-2-2) come to Columbia on Sunday after facing off with Kansas on Friday afternoon. Currently in sixth place in the Big 12 and ranked as high as No. 10 nationally, Texas was picked to finish first in the conference in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
The Longhorns’ are led by senior Diana Pfenninger in goal. The 2007 Big 12 Tournament offensive and defensive MVP led the Big 12 in shutouts last season and is tied for first with Dittamore in conference shutouts (four) and shutouts per game (0.57) so far this season. She is ranked No. 14 in the nation in goals against average (0.502) and No. 9 in the nation in save percentage (0.881). In front of Pfenninger are senior defenders Stephanie Logterman and Kasey Moore, both Preseason All Big 12 selections. The Texas defense has allowed a league-low eight goals in its 15 games this season, posting a stout 0.49 goals against average, and is tied with Missouri with eight shutouts on the year. Logterman and Moore have also been key parts in the Texas offense, combining for eight goals and seven assists. Freshman Courtney Goodson, part of the No. 13-ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Soccer Buzz, leads the Longhorns with 13 points on five goals and three assists.
Texas has won the last nine meetings with Missouri, including a 3-2 overtime victory last season after the Tigers jumped to an early 2-0 lead in Austin, Texas. Missouri is 2-11-1 all-time against Texas, having never defeated the Longhorns in Columbia.
Mizzou Soccer Online
In addition to the official news, photos, statistics and more that are available on the newly designed mutigers.com, the Missouri soccer program is complementing the team’s coverage with several supplementary sites for fans, alumni, and recruits. The team has continued to update ThisIsMizzouSoccer.com since its debut this spring, which features a coach’s blog, photos and video of the team in action, team information and much more. Additionally, Missouri was the first school to launch its customized team page on the recently unveiled GoCollegeSoccer.com. Finally, the team launched a MizzouSoccer Twitter account last week to provide instant updates and information on the team, as well as a MizzouSoccer YouTube channel to post match footage. 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 all those who follow Mizzou soccer.
