Aug. 24, 2004

Mizzou Opens Season on the Road
Mizzou kicks off the regular season on the road playing Northwestern and Illinois. The Tigers face the Wildcats on Fri., Aug. 27 at 4:00 p.m. in Evanston, Ill., before battling the Illini on Sun., Aug. 29 at 1:00 p.m., in Champaign. Tiger Home Season Opener
Initiating the 2004 home season, Missouri welcomes Wisconsin, Iowa and Baylor to the fifth annual Nike Tiger Invitational. The round robin event begins on Fri., Sept. 3 pairing Baylor and Iowa in a 4:30 p.m., match. The Tigers follow up facing the Badgers at 7:00 p.m. On day two of the competition, Sun., Sept. 5, the Bears face Wisconsin at 11:00 a.m., leaving Mizzou and Iowa to play a final match at 1:30 p.m. All Missouri home games are held in Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium. Tickets are available by calling the Missouri Athletic Department Ticket Office at 884-PAWS. Fans can also purchase tickets at the stadium on game day. Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern opens the year following a 7-10-1 season in 2003. The Wildcats were 3-6-1 during Big 10 Conference play earning a ninth-place finish. Former Mizzou assistant Jen Haigh begins her fourth year as the Northwestern head coach owning a 19-29-7 career mark. Facing the Wildcats last season, Mizzou picked up its first series win with a 2-0 victory. Prior to that meeting, Northwestern had defeated the Tigers in three consecutive encounters from 1996-98 to own the NW-MU series 3-1. Scouting Illinois
Facing a top ranked opponent in its first outing, Mizzou faces the #14 ranked Fighting Illini. Rounding out the 2003 season with an impressive 16-4-2 record, Illinois was 7-1-2 in Big 10 Conference play finishing second in league standings. The Illini highlighted the season as the Big 10 Tournament champions before earning berth to the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing to Western Michigan 2-0 in the first round, Illinois was tabbed as the ninth finest team in the nation in the final NSCAA/adidas Coaches Poll. Pairing with Illinois for the first time since 2002, Missouri is looking to build up its 2-1 series lead. The Tigers defeated the Illini in their last meeting in a 2-1 double overtime victory playing in the Nike Tiger Invitational. Tigers in the Preseason Rankings
Receiving national acclaim, the Tigers open the 2004 season are tied for 10th in the NSCAA/adidas Central Region. Mizzou also chimes in as the #11 ranked team in the SoccerBuzz Central Region. The Tigers received a sixth-place ranking in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Keeping pace with a rigorous schedule facing 10 top-25 opponents in 2003, the Tigers are poised to play eight teams ranked in at least one preseason national poll this season including:
Texas A&M - #4 SoccerBuzz
Texas - #4 Soccer America
Florida - #8 Soccer Times
Kansas - #11 SoccerBuzz
Illinois - #14 NSCAA/adidas
Stanford - #14 Soccer America
Colorado - #17 SoccerBuzz/Soccer America
Nebraska - #25 Soccer Times/Soccer America All-Big 12 Preseason Athletes Forward Melissa Peabody showcased as one of only four seniors nominated to the 2004 Big 12 Coaches preseason team. The accolade comes on the heels of a tremendous late season rally when she led the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory against then #4 ranked Texas A&M (5-4) last year. Peabody scored three goals and an assist to hand Missouri just its second win over the Aggies. She then rounded out the season with a whirlwind showing at the Big 12 Tournament scoring two goals against Nebraska helping the Tigers' claim their first victory over the Huskers (3-2). She was named to the 2003 Big 12 all-conference and all-tournament teams. Sophomore Elyse Nikonchuk earns preseason recognition following her inaugural season as the Tigers most accredited athlete earning SoccerBuzz freshman all-central region and Big 12 all-tournament recognition. The Tigers' defensive center midfielder led Mizzou to a history making win over #1 seeded Colorado in the 2003 Big 12 Tournament. Scoring Missouri's game-winning-goal, the Tiger victory marked the first time in conference history a #8 seeded team had won a Big 12 Tournament game. Nikonchuk highlighted as a SoccerBuzz Central Region all-freshman selection. She rounded out her freshman season as a U.S. National U-19 team selection and spent her spring and summer gaining international exposure. Mizzou Exhibition
The Tigers defeated Southwest Missouri State 7-2 in a preliminary match last Friday. Forward Kristen Heil led the charge scoring the first hat trick of her career against the Bears. Defender Karen Bauer paralleled the feat dishing out three assists in the game. Finding their rhythm in the first half allowing the Bears a pair of goals, the Tigers left the period with a slim 3-2 lead. Following an intermission rally, Missouri shut down Southwest leaving the Bears without a single shot in the second half while it went on a five-goal tear. Tigers to Watch
* As Big 12 Champion runner-up, Missouri had five athletes named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team: Erica Pusch, Karen Bauer, Elyse Nikonchuk, Kristen Heil and Melissa Peabody were each honored. * Forward Kristen Heil made the record books scoring a goal against Eastern Illinois. Her 11-second response is Missouri's fastest retaliation goal in history and ranks as the eighth-fastest response goal in NCAA history as well. * Karen Bauer was named to the 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America teams--the first Mizzou soccer player to receive the honor. Starting each of Missouri's 22 games in the backfield, the Big 12 All-Tournament defender maintains a 3.93 grade point average in biology. 2003 Additional Highlights
* Mizzou advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. The Tigers defeated Eastern Illinois 1-0 to pick up their first NCAA victory. * The Tigers advanced to the Big 12 Championship final after defeating #1 seeded Colorado (2-0) and #4 seeded Nebraska (3-2) - it was Mizzou's first victory over the Cornhuskers. Entering tournament play as the #8 seed, Missouri made history as the first #8 seed to win a game during Big 12 Championship play. Complete Release in PDF Format