Sept. 12, 1999
Champaign, Ill. - The Missouri Tiger women's soccer team won its fifth consecutive match Sunday, defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 3-2 in overtime at the Illinois Soccer Complex. Missouri improved to 5-1 on the season, while Illinois suffered its first loss of the year and fell to 5-1.
Senior forward Erin Grimsley scored the game-winner one minute and fifty-two seconds into the extra frame to give the Tigers the victory. That score was Grimsley's second of the match, and her seventh of the season, tying her with teammate Nikki Thole for the team lead.
As has become common place with this explosive MU team, Missouri got on the board early in the match. In fact, Sarah Sallee's goal, assisted by Grimlsey, just 1:17 into the match was the quickest score at the begining of a Tiger match in program history. The Tigers seemed to have the match in hand when Grimlsey score her first goal off a feed from Thole at 30:25 and MU had a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half the Fighting Illini lived up to their nickname, as they pressured the Missouri defense for most of the second period. Illinois's Heather Brown score two goals on two headshots, tying the score at two, with just over one minute remaining in regulation. Time expired with the teams still knoted and they went to overtime.
Needing to score first for the win, the Tigers found the offensive attack they had misplaced during the second half, and made quick work of IU in overtime. Thole collected a loose ball just outside the eighteen-yard box, dribbled past a defender and then passed to Grimsley who one-timed a shot past the Illinois goalkeeper and in the net for the MU win at 91:52.
Missouri has now won five straight since dropping their season-opener to Duke. Of those wins, three have come versus Big Ten Conference teams (Indiana, Michigan and Illinois) and two have come versus Big 12 Conference foes (Colorado and Kansas).
Missouri next plays Friday, September 17 at 9pm when they take on Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo as part of the California Classic in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The Tigers then play San Diego University on Sunday, September 19 at 3pm at the same location.
