Aug. 1, 2003
Columbia, Mo.-The Missouri women's soccer program is pleased to announce the hiring of Assistant Coach Kate Cortis. Former assistant Manoj Khettry resigned his position earlier in the summer to pursue a coaching career closer to his family. In addition to Cortis, the Tigers have also added volunteer assistant coach Stefanie Maurer to the Mizzou program.
"We are pleased to have Kate back with our program," Head Coach Bryan Blitz said. "She is a very talented coach and we feel she is a wonderful asset to our team. Her knowledge and enthusiasm for the game can only be an advantage for our program."
Kate Cortis returns to the Mizzou program after a year hiatus. Cortis served as the Tiger's Director of Soccer Operations during the 2001 season before accepting a position as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Colorado College.
Cortis helped the Colorado College Tigers to an 8-7-2 season record and helped three athletes earn All-Independent team recognition. During her first season with Missouri, she helped coordinate MU's recruiting efforts and program operations. In addition, Cortis pursued a graduate degree from Missouri. Prior to her position at MU, Cortis served as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago under Amy Reifert during the 2000 season. She helped the Maroons to a 12-4-2 season record going 5-2-1 in the UAA and a third-place league finish overall.
Adding to her coaching resume, Cortis served as the head coach in the Detroit Metro League during the summer 2000 season. She has also coached various collegiate soccer camps including those at Chicago and Colorado College.
A native of Birmingham, Mich., Cortis played collegiately at Chicago from 1996-1999. The two-year captain helped lead the Maroons to conference championships in 1996 and 1999. They earned four consecutive NCAA playoff bids during her career, reaching the national semifinals in 1996.
The defender helped set Chicago single-season records in fewest goals allowed (12) and shutouts (13) as a freshman. She also helped set Maroon records for most wins in a season (16, 1996), assists in a season (45, 1999) and owns the Chicago single-game assist record dishing out three assists against St. Mary's University in 1996.
Cortis earned All-UAA honors as a junior and senior and was an NSCAA All-Region selection in 1998 and 1999.
She earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Chicago in 1999. She currently holds an NSCAA National diploma.
Stefanie Maurer joins the 2003 Tiger staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Working primarily with the goalkeeping squad, Maurer brings a wealth of experience to the Mizzou program.
"We are really excited to have Stefanie working with our program," Head Coach Bryan Blitz said. "Stefanie adds great gusto to our program and her knowledge of the sport can only help us too succeed. In the past three years our goalkeepers, Megan and Stephanie, have become better with each season. With Coach Maurer's help, I see them finishing up their senior years' with their finest seasons yet."
Serving as a starting goalkeeper at Northern Illinois from 1995-1999, Maurer led the team to a Mid-American Conference Championship with a 17-7 season record as a junior in 1998 and carded a 1.68 goals-against-average as a senior in 1999. She graduated with a 69-69 record owning a 2.12 GAA, 390 saves and five career shutouts.
She owns NIU records with 138 saves during the 1995 season and recorded 390 career stops to rule the Huskies' charts. She is also ranked fourth in NIU's single-season records with 111 saves in 1996. In addition, her efforts against Dayton and Wisconsin-Green Bay during the 1995 season are the third and fourth-highest single-match save totals in Northern Illinois history.
Highlighting her career at Northern Illinois, Maurer was named the Newcomer of the Year in 1995. She was also able to serve as a Northern Illinois soccer camp counselor during the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
Maurer played her high school ball at Kirkwood High School (Mo.). She earned first team All-Suburban Conference honors during four consecutive seasons. She was also a National Soccer Coaches Association Missouri all-state third team selection in both 1994 and 1995. She compiled 28 shutouts during her high school career, including nine as a senior while making 136 saves and owning a 1.00 GAA.
Maurer was a member of the Missouri Olympic Development state team from 1995-98. She also played on the Region II ODP team from 1990-95 and was named as an NSCAA All-American in 1993.
Maurer earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy from Northern Illinois in 2000. Following graduation, she worked for the University Health System Consortium from 2000-02 as a staff accountant before accepting a position with Affordable Equity Partners, Inc., as an accountant last year.
In the summer of 2003, Maurer entered the realm of mountain bike racing. She has competed in two competitions and recorded first and third-place finishes, respectively. She intends to compete in several more races during the upcoming 2003 season.