Sept. 28, 1999
Columbia, Mo. -
MISSOURI HEADS TO TEXAS FOR BIG 12 CONFERENCE ROAD TESTS
The No. 20 Missouri Tigers are after two Big 12 Confernce wins this weekend when they play Texas Tech in Lubbock on Friday and Baylor in Waco on Sunday. MU sports a 2-0 conference mark for the first time in program history and is currently one of three unbeaten teams in Big12 play. Texas Tech stands at 4-5-1, 0-2 in Big 12 play while Baylor--the 1998 Big 12 regular season champions--boasts a 7-2 record overall, 1-1 in conference action. This year?s match with Texas Tech will break the 2-2 all-time series tie between the Tigers and Red Raiders. MU won last year?s match 5-3 in Columbia at Walton Stadium. The Baylor Bears own the all-time series lead with MU, 3-1. The Tiger victory came at the 1998 Big 12 Tounament, when the #5 seeded Tigers upset the top-seeded Bears 3-1 in San Antonio.
TEXAS TECH AT A GLANCE
The Red Raiders, under head coach Felix Oskam, are seeking their first Big 12 win this weekend as Missouri and Kansas visit Lubbock, Texas. The south division squad began the season with two conference losses to Nebraska (1-0) and Iowa State (4-0). Since then, Texas Tech has posted a 4-3-1 mark in non-conference action with wins over West Texas A&M, UTEP, North Texas, and Northwestern State this past Saturday, 3-0. The Red Raiders have been held scoreless in Big 12 play, having attempted only 19 shots in conference play as compared to 31 by their opponents. For the season, Texas Tech has attempted 160 shots, though the squad has scored just 12 goals. A pair of forwards and a midfielder are the main offensive weapons for Texas Tech. Sophomore Carrie Fraizer leads the squad with three goals and an assist for seven total points from her midfield position. Up front, forwards Jennifer Hamm and Kristy Frantz have each scored two goals while attempting 22 and 20 shots respectively. Between the pipes, sophomore Brittney Peese has logged just over two-thirds of the playing time. She has allowed 10 of the 16 goals scored against the Red Raiders, while making 28 saves and posting a 3-3-1 record. Fellow sophomore Kellie McCallister has filled the remaining time in net, registering 15 saves and six goals allowed.
BAYLOR AT A GLANCE
The Baylor Bears have picked up where they left of last season as the Big 12 Conference?s regular season champs. BU has compiled a 7-2 record overall in 1999, they ae 1-1 in Big 12 play with a win over Iowa State (2-1 2OT) and a loss to No.3 Nebraska (3-0). Their success has landed them at No. 14 in the most recent NSCAA national top-25 poll. Baylor?s season took a dramatic turn in August, when the school?s all-time leading scorer, Molly Cameron, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in practice. Despite the loss of their top gun, the Bears have managed to score 23 goals while allowing only eight in route to their national ranking. Offensively, Missouri will have to keep a close eye on Courtney Sanders a senior forward with eight goals and five assits. Her 21 total points tie her with MU foward Erin Grimsley on third place among Big 12 scorers. Senior midfielder Nikki Hales also ranks in the conference top-10 for scoring with seven goals and two assits to her credit. The Baylor defense is led by goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse who has allowed only six goals in over eight-hundered minutes of action, though four of those goals have come in conference play.
TIGERS TAKE ON ANOTHER NATIONALLY-RANKED TEAM
Missouri will take on its fifth opponent which has spent time in the national rankings this weekend when they visit the No. 14 ranked Baylor Bears. Duke, Michigan, Illinois, and San Diego have all spent time among the nation?s top-25. Michigan (No. 15) and San Diego (No. 24) are holding down spots, with Illinois and Duke receiving votes in the most recent NSCAA poll. Duke peaked at No. 12 earlier this year before falling out of the top-25. The Illini went to No. 15 before falling out this past week. Missouri will be seeking their second win over a No. 14 ranked unit. The Tigers defeated then No. 14 Michigan for the championship of the Ellis Copy Tiger Invitational, 4-1. Against the other ranked teams MU is 1-2, posting a win over Illinois while suffering losses to Duke and San Diego. Still to come are matches two top-10 teams--No. 3 Nebraska, No. 8 Texas A&M--and Iowa State who has appearedin the poll.
MISSOURI AND TEXAS TECH SHARE HOLLAND EXPERIENCE
Players on both the Missouri and Texas Tech teams started the season early as both schools traveled across the globe for matches in Holland. The Red Raiders took a similar itinerary as the Tigers playing three matches in Europe during the month of August. Through the regular season?s first month, it looks as if MU?s trip developed the Tiger team a little faster than Red Raider squad. Missouri closes he month of September at 7-2, while Texas Tech enters weekend play at 4-5-1.
TIGERS HIT HIGH-WATER MARKS IN SHUTOUT OF LOYOLA
In Sunday?s 6-0 shutout of Loyola the Tigers set a school and Walton Stadium record for shots in a game with 38. Erin Grimsley, Sarah Sallee, and Laura Smith each registered five shots to lead the team. Five different players scored goals in the win--Nikki Thole (2), Suzy Probst, Laura Smith, Amy Timmermann, and Becky Paulsen--for the later four players, the score was their first of the season. Probst and Smith also netted the first goals of their promising Tiger careers. ?Our depth is a real strengh of for this team and we showed that today,? Head Coach Bryan Blitz said afterward. ?We showed that we can certainly go several players deep and that will help us tremendously in conference play.?
DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!
Yes, Missouri has the offensive firepower many collegiate teams don?t, but credit for MU?s success thus far must also be handed out to the Tiger team defense. MU has shutout two opponents--Kansas, 4-0 and Loyola, 6-0--while allowing only 11 goals total for the season. Opponents are scoring an average of 1.33 goals per match while Missouri is scoring an average of 3.33 goals per match. The team?s ability to play possession soccer, through their defense, and not allow the opponent to threaten the goal, gives the Tiger plenty of opportunities to attack which MU as capitalized on a great percentage of the time. In fact, Missouri is a perfect 7-0 when they score two goals or more in a match. Meanwhile the team has not allowed more than two goals to any opponent thus far in 1999.
THOLE LEADING BIG12 IN SCORING, THIRD IN THE NATION
Junior forward Nikki Thole is leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 11 goals and five assists for 27 total points. That total also places her as the third most productive scorer in the NCAA with 3.00 points per match. Missouri?s all-time leading goal scorer is the NCAA?s sixth most productive goal scorer thus far in ?99 with 11 goals in nine matches, a 1.22 goals per match average.
GRIMSLEY TOPS ASSIST CHARTS
Not to be out done by her teammate, Nikki Thole, Erin Grimsley?s play making skills have resulted in seven assists for the senior, tops among Big 12 Conference players. The senior averages 0.88 assists per match, having tallied seven assist in eight matches this season. That mark stands as the second highest average in the NCAA through the season?s first month.
TIGER TEAM IN THE NCAA STATS
With the NCAA?s No. 2 assist player and its No. 3 point scorer at the forward poisitions, it is no wonder that the Missouri Tigers average 3.33 goals per game, tenth among NCAA schools. MU potent attack places them thrid in the Big 12 Conference behind Texas A&M (3.50) and Nebraska (3.40), schools which aslo rank ahead of the Tiger nationally in the eighth and nineth positions respectively in goals per match.
MISSOURI SOCCER IS A HOT TICKET
Attendance at Missouri soccer games has been booming, with increases expected. Through the first six matches at Walton Stadium, Missouri soccer has drawn 3,465 fans for an average of 578 per match. The Tigers have six home dates remaining, four Big 12 Conference tilts--Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas and a non-conference match Tulsa.
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
Chemistry is not alot of fun to study, as this SID will tell you, but any coach will tell you that it is a basic component of any great team. The Missouri Tigers started their 1999 chemistry project in early August when they traveled to Holland for three matches of international competition. MU swept their three-game schedule, with wins over the Belgium Devils (3-0), Team Holland (4-0) and Club Belgium (4-3). Six different Tigers scored for the Missouri attack, a testiment to the depth of Missouri?s offensive threat. Nikki Thole led the way with four goals, while socring in all three games. Kristin Boeker added three goals of her own as MU outscored their opponents by a combined score of 11-3. Missouri?s defense was also in top form, shutting out its first two opponents and allowing just three goals to Club Belgium, the best team in the country of Belgium.
ELLIS LIBRARY COPY CENTER ANNOUNCES SOCCER DONATION
The University of Missouri Department of Athletics is proud to announce Ellis Copy Center as the title sponsor for this season?s Missouri soccer invitational. The 1999 Ellis Copy Center Invitational will feature competition between the Missouri Tigers, Indiana Hoosiers, Michigan Wolverines, and Vanderbilt Commodores at the Audrey J. Walton Track-Soccer Field Stadium. on Spetember 3 and 5. ?We are very pleased to have Ellis Copy Center support soccer at Mizzou,? Head Coach Bryan Blitz said. ?We feel we have a great invitational set up this season with all four teams and Ellis Copy Center?s support only helps the invitational and the program not only now, but for years to come.? The company?s sponsorship of the invitational will be managed by Mizzou Sports Propertires, responsible for securing sorporate sponsorships and promoting MU?s 20 men?s and women?s intercollegiate athletic programs. ?This partnership is a win-win situation for all involved,? said Mizzou Sports Properties General Manager Mike Behymer. ?Ellis Library Copy Center is strategically placing itself as a sponsor of a sport that as a great deal of promise. We are happy they have the foresight to see the emerging opportunities with women?s soccer.?