Tiger Prowl

The list of firsts in Missouri soccer history was nearly completed after the 1998 season, the program?s third in existence. The team added its first winning season and first trip to the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game to the program?s annals. However, at the end of the 1998 season one first was left unaccomplished: the school?s first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

In 1999, Missouri?s first senior class will lead the team in search of a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers begin their quest with a team that features a fierce offensive punch and a stifling defense. Missouri returns all of its starters from the 1998 team that set school records for points scored and fewest points allowed.

Certainly one of the most exciting soccer teams in the Big 12 Conference, Missouri opens play with home matches against Duke and Colorado before hosting the second annual Nike Tiger Invitational. The Michigan Wolverines, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Indiana Hoosiers invade Columbia for a shot at the tourney championship the first weekend in September.

After hosting the Jayhawks from Kansas and traveling to Illinois, Missouri will head to the west coast for the California Classic in San Luis Obispo, Calif. There MU will take on San Diego and Cal-Poly-San Luis Obispo, before returning home for a non-conference match with Loyola (Ill.). Then the battles in the Big 12 Conference begin in earnest as MU takes on eight conference opponents in its final ten games.

Familiar faces and terrific new talent fill the roster spots for the Tigers in ?99. All 11 of ?98?s starters return, plus several players who played key minutes off the bench. For the first time in Blitz?s four years, experience will be one of the team?s strong points. Scoring goals should also not be a problem. The team returns players who scored 53 of 1998?s 56 total goals and posted 161 of the 169 team total in points.

Perhaps no Tiger is more explosive with the ball at her feet than forward Nikki Thole. The junior returns after a record breaking sophomore season when she scored a school-record 20 goals with nine assists for 49 total points, another school record.

Senior Class
Missouri sends out its most experienced team in 1999, with the program?s first senior class.

Missouri soccer will take to the field in 1999 with the goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Five members of the original 1996 team are now seniors and motivated to leave their final mark on the program.

The Forwards
Missouri returns the top forward line in the Big 12, and one of most talented in the nation for the 1999 season. The school?s all-time career goal scorer, Nikki Thole, returns after a 1998 season in which she scored 20 goals with nine assists. Thole was named to the all-Big 12 Conference first team as well as to the Big 12 all-Tournament team.

?We were the most exciting team in the Big 12 last season. Nikki finished second in the conference in scoring and [Erin] Grimsley was third. They are both back along with Kristin Boeker and Sarah Sallee, plus we have added some depth up front in a couple of freshmen to give that position even more power,? said Blitz.

The high praise from the coach stemmed from Thole?s big year plus the 14-goal, 13-assist effort of Grimsley and seven goals and five assists from Boeker. Combined this three-some accounted for 109 of MU?s 169 points in 1998.

The Midfielders
Missouri?s midfield play got a huge boost when Mandy Pavlovits transferred to MU from South Carolina. The St. Louis native will play center midfield, anchoring an area that still contains a question mark or two. One of the candidates to fill the hole is sophomore Sarah Sallee, a top-caliber attacker who posted three goals and four assists as a freshman in ?98. Also in the mix are seniors Kate Dwyer and Heather Buchheit, as well as Amy Timmermann , a junior whose best play of 1998 came during the Big 12 Tournament. Sophomore Stephanie Brennan will also be a major contributor in 1999. As a freshman, Brennan netted four goals and assited on six others for 14 points, fourth on the team.

The Defenders
Complimenting the most exciting offense in the Big 12, is one of the conference?s toughest defenses. In 1998 Missouri?s defenders were a major component of a team which allowed only 1.71 goals per game. That entire defensive unit is back for the 1999 season including seniors Jennifer Kram and Liz Passanise, who bring three seasons of experience to the backfield. Sophomore Dyana Russell is one of the top defenders in the conference and Mandy Waters, a high school all-American, returns at sweeper after missing the ?98 season with a knee injury. Add junior Becky Paulsen, and the Tigers have one of the strongest defensive units in the Big 12 Conference.

?Defense is definitley one of our major strengths going in. We have a wealth of experience and our new players in that area will really challenge our veterans,? Blitz said.

The Goalkeepers
The Missouri goal-keeping duties will be handled by senior Jackie Adamec. In 1998 she allowed just 34 goals, a school record.

?Jackie will be our starter, no doubt about it. But there will be a battle for the No. 2 goalkeeper position. Graham Watson made a push in the spring and she and Liz LaTour will fight for that spot,? said Blitz.

The Final Word
This Tiger team is the most balanced in Bryan Blitz?s tenure at Missouri. With nearly all the players returning from the 1998 team which was turned away from the NCAA Tournament, expectations are on the rise for a stellar season in 1999. In the midst of the excitement, the coach may have found the secret to the Tigers? impending success.

Said Blitz, ?The thing I am most proud of with this team is their tremendous work rate and their attitude to never quit. The character they have shown is extraordinary. They are great people and it just is an extra bonus for our program that they are also good soccer players.?