Sept. 8, 2004

Tigers Face National Talent
Mizzou continues a four-game home stand hosting #23 Stanford and #9 Florida this weekend. The Tigers face the Cardinal on Fri., Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m., and round out the weekend against the Gators on Sun., Sept. 12 at 12:00 p.m. 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 #23 Stanford
Stanford comes to Mizzou ranked as the #23 program by both Soccer Times and SoccerBuzz. The Cardinal are 1-2 on the season claiming a 3-0 victory over Utah in their opening game. Stanford has since dropped two consecutive matches against #2 Notre Dame (1-0) and #25 SMU (2-1). Last season, the Cardinal went 10-9-2 with a 5-3-1 record in the Pacific-10 Conference. Stanford advanced to the 2003 NCAA Tournament, but was knocked out in the first round by Santa Clara (1-0). This is the first meeting between Missouri and Stanford. Scouting #9 Florida
Florida faces the Tigers as the #9 ranked team in the nation owning a 3-1 record. The Gators own victories over Dayton (3-2), Florida International (4-1) and #18 Duke (5-1). Florida's lone loss came in a 3-0 defeat to #1 ranked North Carolina. The Gators finished the 2003 season with a 19-4-2 record going 6-2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Florida advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal defeating Texas (1-0), Central Florida (3-2), Mississippi (4-3) and Tennessee (1-0) before falling to Florida State 1-2. In their last match-up in 2003, Florida defeated Mizzou 4-0 to lead the UF-MU series 1-0. Weekend Recap
Mizzou brought its season record to 2-2 following a 1-1 record in the Nike Tiger Invitational. The Tigers fell to Wisconsin 2-1 in Mizzou's first game. The Badgers rallied a 2-0 first half lead before Mizzou came back to dominate the second half of play. Jennifer Nobis put the Tigers on the board scoring an unassisted goal. Elyse Nikonchuk slammed a shot toward the Badger goal box where a Wisconsin defender deflected the ball. Nobis redirected the ball into the net to score MU's lone goal. Despite the stellar come-back, the Tigers were unable to develop another scoring play in the game, dropping its second season loss to the Badgers. Haunted by the defeat, Missouri took charge in its next game overwhelming the Hawkeyes right from the kickoff. The Tiger defensive staff kept Iowa to just three shots in the entire game, while Mizzou made 29 scoring attempts. Persistence finally paid off for the Tigers when Jennifer Nobis scored the game winner late in the second half. Duplicating the play that scored Mizzou's season opening goal, defender Karen Bauer lobbed a corner kick over the goal box where Nobis sent it over the goal line. Tigers in the Rankings
Receiving national acclaim, the Tigers jump two spots to rank ninth in the current NSCAA/adidas Central Region poll. Mizzou also comes in as the SoccerBuzz Central Region's 11th-ranked team. Keeping pace with a rigorous schedule, the Tigers are poised to play nine teams ranked in at least one weekly national poll including (ranking marks the highest received in 2004):
Texas A&M - #4 SoccerBuzz
Texas - #4 Soccer America
Florida - #5 Soccer America
Kansas - #9 SoccerBuzz
Stanford - #13 Soccer America
Illinois - #14 NSCAA/adidas
Colorado - #17 Soccer America
Nebraska - #18 Soccer America
Wisconsin - #18 NSCAA/adidas
Tigers to Watch
* Junior Jennifer Nobis leads the Tigers in scoring with four goals and eight points on the year. She has scored a goal in four consecutive games this season--the longest opening streak in Mizzou history. * Defender Karen Bauer is second on the team dishing two corner kick assists and scoring the game-winning goal against Northwestern to own four points. * Defenders Ashley Gibbs and Elyse Nikonchuk are tied for third on the team with one assist. Gibbs dished out her assist against Illinois, while Nikonchuk aided Nobis against NW. * Defeating Southwest Missouri State 7-2 in a preliminary match, forward Kristen Heil scored the first hat trick of her career against the Bears. Defender Karen Bauer paralleled the feat dishing out three assists in the game. The marks are a personal best for both athletes. * Kristen Heil was honored as the Missouri Varsity M Player of the Week following her performance during the Mizzou-SMS game. * Forward Aria Hudetz earned the Missouri Varsity M Player of the Week honor this week. * Senior forward Melissa Peabody and sophomore defender Elyse Nikonchuk were each named to the 2004 All-Big 12 Soccer Coaches' Preseason Team. Additional Tiger Highlights
* The Missouri defensive line has scored 43 percent of the Tigers points so far this season. Putting in one goal and contributing every assist, defenders Karen Bauer, Elyse Nikonchuk and Ashley Gibbs have supplied six of Mizzou's 14 points. * The Tigers' 1-0 victory over Iowa brings the MU-Iowa series lead to 2-0. * Mizzou's victory over Northwestern is the second consecutive win the Tigers have claimed over the Wildcats. Defeating NW last year 2-0, Missouri is now just one game shy of tying the series (2-3) against Northwestern. * Opening the season with a 1-1 record, the Tigers have opened their fifth straight season with a win, including their second consecutive season opening victory on the road. * In exhibition play, Missouri shut down Southwest Missouri State during second period play. Missouri left the Bears without a single shot in the remaining 45 minutes while the Tigers went on a five-goal tear. Complete Release in PDF Format