Soccer Earns Five Big 12 Honors

Blitz named Coach of the Year, Wagner named Defensive Player of the Year

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Nov. 4, 2009

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Fresh off its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship, the University of Missouri soccer team earned five Big 12 postseason honors, highlighted by the league's defensive player of the year and coach of the year, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Senior defender Crystal Wagner (Houston, Texas) was named the 2009 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-Big 12 first team accolades for the first time in her career, while Head Coach Bryan Blitz was voted the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Blitz also earned the honor in 2007.

Wagner was joined on the All-Big 12 first team by senior forward Kristin Andrighetto (Pleasant Hill, Calif.), while senior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore and senior forward Michelle Collins earned spots on the All-Big 12 second team.

In his 14th season at the helm of the Tigers, Blitz led Mizzou to its first Big 12 regular season title on the heels of a 7-1-2 conference mark and a 12-5-3 overall record. During conference action, Blitz's squad outscored its opponents 27-12 and posted five shutouts.

A four-year starter for Missouri, Wagner has been an anchor for the Tiger defense since her freshman season. She currently sits tied for second place in the Missouri record book with 79 starts and is just three away from tying the career mark. This year she has helped anchor a defense that allowed only 12 goals and posted five shutouts in conference play. A 2008 Soccer Buzz All-Central Region second team selection, Wagner earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 20 after Mizzou posted consecutive shutouts over Baylor and Oklahoma.

 

 

Andrighetto becomes just the second player in school history to earn three All-Big 12 first team honors, joining Tiger great Nikki Thole. Also a 2007 and 2008 first team selection, Andrighetto ranks first in shots (368), second in goals (35) and fourth in points (90) in Mizzou's career records. This season she leads the Tigers with 21 points on eight goals and five assists.

Missouri's career wins and shutouts leader, Dittamore earned Big 12 postseason honors for the second time in her career after earning a spot on the 2007 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. The goalkeeper recorded five shutouts in conference play this season to up her record to 17 and now has a 34-13-5 mark at Missouri to rank first all time in winning percentage (.710) of players with at least six games.

Collins is an All-Big 12 second team selection for the second time in her career after also earning a spot on the team in 2007. The forward is second on the team with 20 points, 15 of which came in conference action. In her career, Collins ranks fifth in assists (five), sixth in points (76) and game-winning goals (eight) and seventh in goals (27).

2009 All-Big 12 Conference Awards
Coach of the Year: Bryan Blitz, Missouri
Offensive Player of the Year: Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska
Defensive Player of the Year: Crystal Wagner, Missouri
Rookie of the Year: Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska

All-Big 12 First Team
GK: Adrianna Franch, Oklahoma State
D: Crystal Wagner, Missouri
D: Carly Peetz, Nebraska
D: Melinda Mercado, Oklahoma State
M: Taylor Lytle, Texas Tech
M: Rachel Shipley, Texas A&M
M: Annika Niemeier, Oklahoma State
F: Nikki Marshall, Colorado
F: Whitney Palmer, Oklahoma
F: Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska
F: Kristin Andrighetto, Missouri

All-Big 12 Second Team
GK: Tasha Dittamore, Missouri
D: Amy Barczuk, Colorado
D: Emily Peterson, Texas A&M
D: Estelle Johnson, Kansas
M: Monica Dolinsky, Kansas
M: Molly Thomas, Nebraska
M: Alyssa Mautz, Texas A&M
F: Whitney Hooper, Texas A&M
F: Kasey Langdon, Oklahoma State
F: Michelle Collins, Missouri
F: Whitney Berry, Kansas

Big 12 All-Newcomer Team
GK: Adrianna Franch, Oklahoma State
D: Amy Barczuk, Colorado
D: Carson Michalowski, Oklahoma State
D: Morgan Johnson, Texas Tech
D: Mary Grace Schmidt, Texas A&M
M: Sophie Campise, Texas
M: Tiffini Smith, Texas Tech
M: Erin Bricker, Colorado
F: Morgan Marlborough, Nebraska
F: Dawn Ward, Texas Tech
F: Whitney Berry, Kansas
F: Hannah Higgins, Texas
**Ties in voting created additional newcomer team positions

Andrighetto invited to Chicago Red Stars combine

12/08/2009 - W. Soccer

Senior Kristin Andrighetto will participate in the 2009 Chicago Red Stars combine, accepting an invitation from the Women's Professional Soccer team to tryout on December 10th and 11th at the MAX Indoor Soccer Center in McCook, Ill.

Two Soccer Seniors Recognized Nationally

12/07/2009 - W. Soccer

Two seniors from the University of Missouri women's soccer team were named to the NSCAA All-Central Region teams as announced Thursday. Defender Crystal Wagner was named to the central region's first team, while striker Kristin Andrighetto was elected to the third team.

Soccer Wins Back-to-Back Big 12 Titles

10/25/2009 - W. Soccer

The University of Missouri women's soccer team (12-4-3, 7-0-3) have earned the title of 2009 Big 12 regular season champions after a 5-0 disposal of Nebraska (10-4-4, 4-3-2) on Sunday at Walton Stadium. Junior Alysha Bonnick scored twice to help the team win the first Big 12 regular season title for any Missouri sports program since the softball team won it in 1997.

Tigers Earn Academic Honors

11/03/2009 - W. Soccer

10 members of the University of Missouri women's soccer team were given Big 12 All-Academic team honors, the conference announced on Tuesday. Among those 10, seven were named to the conference's All-Academic first team.

Soccer Earns Five Big 12 Honors

11/04/2009 - W. Soccer

Fresh off its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship, the University of Missouri soccer team earned five Big 12 postseason honors, highlighted by the league's defensive player of the year and coach of the year, the conference announced on Wednesday.