Oct. 13, 2004
Tiger Itinerary
Mizzou faces #6 Texas A&M and Texas on a two game road trip through the Lone Star State. The Tigers battle the Aggies on Fri., Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m., before facing the Longhorns on Sun., Oct. 17 at 12:00 p.m.
The Tigers return home to play Texas Tech in Columbia on Fri., Oct. 22 at 7:00 p.m. Mizzou rounds out Big 12 Conference action traveling to Texas to face Baylor on Sun., Oct. 24 at 1:00 p.m.
Weekend Livestats
Mizzou fans can access live statistics updates by logging onto the Texas A&M and Texas websites this weekend. To access the Gametracker program, jump to the respective soccer schedule page and select livestats to access minute-by-minute game results.
Texas A&M -- www.aggieathletics.com
Texas -- www.texassports.com
Scouting #6 Texas A&M
The Aggies currently lead the Big 12 Conference owning a perfect 7-0-0 record following two come-from-behind road victories over Colorado and Nebraska. Maintaining a seven game win streak, the Aggies have only allowed four goals during league play.
Texas A&M opens the week ranked sixth in the NSCAA/adidas poll owning a 12-3-0 regular season mark. The Aggies only losses have come at the hands of #12 Clemson (4-1), Princeton (2-1) and #20 UCLA (1-0).
The Aggies rounded out the 2003 season with a 13-6-3 season record with a 5-3-2 league record finishing fifth in the Big 12 Conference. Picking up just their second win over the Aggies, the Tigers bested Texas A&M in an amazing 5-4 come-from-behind overtime victory. Texas A&M leads the TAMU-MU series 6-2.
Scouting Texas
Owning a 7-5-1 record with a 3-3-1 Big 12 Conference mark, the Longhorns currently rank fourth in Big 12 Conference standings. Currently riding on a six-game home win streak, Texas has scored three or more goals in seven of 13 games this season.
Picking up four losses on the year, Texas dropped its season opening game to #12 Clemson (1-0) and lost to #6 Portland (3-1). During Big 12 Conference play, the Longhorns count three losses to #15 Texas A&M (3-1), Baylor (2-1 ot) and #20 Nebraska (4-3).
Last season, the Longhorns logged a 12-9-0 record with a 7-3-0 mark during Big 12 Conference play to finish second in league standings. Bolstering its 2-6-1 series record over Mizzou, Texas topped the Tigers 2-1.
Weekend Recap
Missouri is currently ranked eight in Big 12 Conference standings with a 2-4-0 league mark following losses to #9 Kansas (3-1) and Iowa State (2-0).
Although Missouri matched the Jayhawks with 14 shots, including a slim 9-to-10 shot on goal differential, the Tigers gave up three goals in the game losing 3-1.
Scoring Mizzou's lone goal in the game, junior Jennifer Nobis notched her sixth goal of the season. Taking an assist from defenders Erica Pusch and Ashley Gibbs, Nobis collected the ball at the top of the KU box where she launched a shot past KU goalkeeper Meghan Miller.
Facing Iowa State, the Tigers outshot the Cyclones 21-to-20, including a 13-to-8 shot on goal differential, but were unable to put a ball past ISU goalkeeper Jo Haig.
The Tigers battled to a 0-0 deadlock following first half play. The Cyclones matched Mizzou with nine shots in the period. Despite topping Iowa State with a 6-to-3 shot on goal accuracy, the Tigers were unable to find the net. Iowa State came back in the second period to score two goals.
Tigers in the Rankings
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 - #4 SoccerBuzz
Kansas - #6 SoccerBuzz
Stanford - #8 SoccerBuzz
Illinois - #10 NSCAA/adidas
Colorado - #17 Soccer America
Nebraska - #17 Soccer America
Wisconsin - #16 NSCAA/adidas
Tiger Highlights
* The Missouri defensive line has contributed 42 percent of Mizzou's scoring so far this season. Defenders Karen Bauer, Elyse Nikonchuk, Lacy Moore, Ashley Gibbs, Lauren Grice and Erica Pusch have together supplied 18 of Mizzou's 43 points. Tiger halfbacks have scored five of the Tigers' 15 goals and 8-of-13 assists on the year.
* Nine of Missouri's starting field players have contributed either a goal or an assist during the Tigers 10 games this season.
* Defeating #23 Colorado, the Tigers picked up their second consecutive victory over the 2003 Big 12 Conference champions. After falling to the Buffs (3-2) during regular season play last year, the Tigers came back to defeat Colorado 2-0 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Mizzou's 1-0 victory over the Buffs this season marks Missouri's second shutout victory of the year.
* Mizzou's 2-1 overtime victory against Oklahoma marks the first time a Missouri team has defeated the Sooners in Norman. The victory brings the Tiger's series record against OU to 5-3. The Tigers out shot the Sooners 20-to-6 during the game, and kept Oklahoma from taking a single shot during overtime play.
* Opening the year 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.
* Missouri is out shooting its opponents an average of 17.6-to-12.1 shots per game. The Tigers have outshot nine of their 14 opponents.
* In Big 12 Conference standings, the Tigers rank third in shots taken during the season (246). The Tigers average 17.00 shots per game against league opponents to also rank third in shots during Big 12 play.