April 10, 2004

St. Louis, Mo. - In just her second career start, junior goalkeeper Kira Reyes has helped the Tigers get off to a 2-0 start in their spring pre-season games and recorded her first career shut out tonight against Ohio State as Mizzou went on to win 1-0.

The game got off to a fast start as both teams battled back and forth pressuring each others defense, but in the end Mizzou was able to break through the Ohio State defense. Senior defender Ashley Gibbs intercepted a pass from Ohio State and sprinted up field dodging Buck Eye defenders. Gibbs centered a pass to senior Melissa Peabody, but Peabody's shot was just high as it sailed over the cross bar.

Mizzou would come right back as junior Amber Swinehart made a forty-yard run down the left side of the field that she capped off with a shot that deflected off an Ohio State player and past the Buck Eye keeper that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with 31:48 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers offensive pressure in the first half was relentless as Gibbs again brought the ball up field for the Tigers and lofted a pass to junior Jennifer Nobis who managed to get a shot off, but the shot was just wide.

In the second half, the Tigers continued to put the pressure on Ohio State's defense and continued to thwart any offensive threats Ohio State created.

In the closing minutes of the game, Ohio State put pressure on the Mizzou's defense, but the Buckeye shot bounced off the cross bar and was cleared by the Tigers and ended any hope of an Ohio State goal. The Missouri win gives them a 2-1 advantage in their contests against Ohio State.

"After last week's game we knew what we needed to work on as a team, and we did just that tonight. We played in a much better rhythm and did a good job controlling the ball," said Head Coach Bryan Blitz. "Tonight Amber [Swinehart], Ashley [Gibbs] and Kira [Reyes] really had stand out performances for us. Kira has been getting better every game and it's great to see the improvements she has been making."