Sept. 5, 1999
Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri women?s soccer team won its third match in a row Sunday, with a 4-1 victory over No. 14 Michigan. The win clinched the Ellis Copy Tiger Invitational championship for MU and improved the team?s overall record to 3-1. Three Tigers scored in the match and Jackie Adamec got the win for Missouri in goal.
?This is definately the best game we have played for the longest amount of time,? Head Coach Bryan Blitz said. ?To score four goals against Michigan gives us alot of credit and we proved we can play to our ability level.?
Missouri opened the contest with aggressive play and swift movements versus their Big Ten foe. At 30:39, sophomore Sarah Sallee got the Tigers on the board with her second goal of the season. After Erin Grimsley fought off a Michigan defender at the centerline, she carried the ball downfield and punched a pass down the right side for Nikki Thole. The forward settled the ball and crossed it to a cutting Sallee in front of the net. Sallee one-timed a shot into the the lower left corner and Missouri led 1-0.
Ten minutes later, Kristen Boeker collected a loose ball twenty yards from the goal, dribbled around a defender and shot a left-footed pass to Erin Grimsley, who placed a low line drive under the diving goalkeeper and into the net to give MU a 2-0 lead.
Michigan returned to the field for the second half with a goal of its own at 50:04 by Andrea Kayl with an assist by Marie Spaccarotella and the Wolverines seemd to be on the comeback trial. But just sixteen seconds later, the comeback trial was closed, when Grimsley took the restart touch and dribbled the ball through the entire Michigan defense to about seven yards from the goal. Then as she was falling down, the senior shoveled a pass to Thole who deposited the ball in the net to give MU a 3-1 advantage. With her fifth score of the season, Thole set a school record by scoring in her fourth consecutive game.
The Tigers put the match away with 7:35 to play when Grimsley took a pass from Thole near the goal, was stopped by the defense, but then scored on a second effort to give MU the 4-1 win. The two goals Sunday give Grimsley four for the season to go along with three assists.
Sunday?s victory was Missouri?s first regular season victory over a ranked opponent, giving the Tigers tremendous confidence going into their next match, Friday, September 10 at Walton Stadium versus the Kansas Jayhawks. The home contest begins at 4pm.
1999 Ellis Copy Tiger Invitational Soccer Tournament
All-Tournament Team
Erin Grimsley, F, Missouri
Nikki Thole, F, Missouri
Dyana Russell, D, Missouri
Jackie Adamec, GK, Missouri
Emily Schmitt, MF, Michigan
Andrea Kayl, D, Michigan
Marie Spaccarotella, F, Michigan
Kelly Kram, MF, Indiana
Ashley Davis, GK, Indiana
Asta Helgadottir, MF, Vanderbilt
Lindaliz Arauz, D, Vanderbilt
