Oct. 27, 2005
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri women's soccer team travels to Lawrence, Kansas for the regular season finale against Border Showdown foe Kansas at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. With a win, the Tigers automatically qualify for next week's Big 12 Tournament in San Antonio, Texas.
PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
The Tigers currently hold the eighth and final spot in next week's Big 12 Tournament, however, Missouri leads ninth place Oklahoma State by only one point with one game left. If the Tigers beat Kansas or Oklahoma State falls or ties Oklahoma on Friday, Missouri automatically qualifies for the tournament.
Missouri wins/Oklahoma State wins: Tigers earn seventh seed, Cowgirls finish eighth
Missouri wins/Oklahoma State ties or loses: Tigers earn eighth seed, Cowgirls out
Missouri ties or loses/Oklahoma State wins: Cowgirls finish eighth, Tigers out
Missouri ties or loses/Oklahoma State ties or loses: Tigers earn eighth seed, Cowgirls out
LAST WEEK Missouri fell behind Big 12 co-leader Texas early in Friday night's match and never recovered as the Longhorns bested the Tigers 4-1 at Walton Stadium. In the 11th minute, Texas' Amy Burlingham netted the game's first goal off a feed from Kelsey Carpenter. Two goals within a two minute span, including an own goal on Missouri, put the Longhorns ahead 3-0 heading into the second half. Texas struck again in the 78th minute when Carpenter knocked in a pass from Priscilla Fite for a 4-0 lead. Just one minute later, freshman forward Ashley Hamblin dribbled to the Texas endline and passed across the goal face to wide open senior forward Amber Swinehart, who put the Tigers on the board.
On Sunday prior to the Missouri's match against non-conference opponent Colorado College, the Tigers celebrated Senior Day by honoring senior Jennifer Nobis, Erica Pusch, Kira Reyes and Swinehart. Fittingly, Nobis and Swinehart combined for the game-winning goal in the 85th minute in their last regular season game at Walton Stadium. Nobis received a pass from freshman midfielder Janelle Cordia and raced toward Colorado College's goal. Just outside the box, Nobis hit a streaking Swinehart, who chipped her shot over the goalie and into the net for a 1-0 Tiger advantage. Swinehart's goal was her team-leading 11th of the season, including her sixth game-winner. With the assist, Nobis tied Missouri single-season record with 13 assists on the year.
FANTASTIC FINALES
Since 1996, Missouri is 8-1 in regular season finales, incluing eight straight wins since 1997. The Tigers are a perfect 2-0 against the Jawhawks to end the regular season, picking up a 2-0 win in 2002 and a 4-1 victory in 2000. In 2003, the Tigers entered the regular season finale against Iowa State in need of a win to make the Big 12 Tournament. The Tigers faced a quick 2-0 deficit just nine minutes into the match but tied the game up a 2-2 with goals by junior midfielder Elyse Nikonchuk and junior defender Meggie Malm at the end of the first half. The Cyclones retook the lead in the second half but two goals within a two minute span in the closing minutes of regulation by Nikonchuk and former Tiger Adriene Davis sealed the tournament bid for Missouri. The Tigers went on to advance to the Big 12 Championship game and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
LEADING THE WAY
With an assist against Colorado College on Sunday, senior forward Jennifer Nobis now ranks fifth nationally in assists per game (0.81). Three Tigers also find themselves ranked in the top five in Big 12 Conference statistics, as of Oct. 24. Nobis leads the conference in shots per game (5.38), is second in total assists (13), assists per game (0.81), third in total shots (86) and is fifth in points (25) and points per game (1.56). Senior Amber Swinehart leads the league in game-winning goals (six), is third in goals (11), fourth in goals per game (0.61) and fifth in total shots (71). Sophomore goalie Laura Buehrig ranks third in saves (85), fourth in saves per game (4.72) and is tied for fourth in shutouts (five).
RECORD WATCH
As of Oct. 24, three Tigers find themselves ranked in the top 10 in Missouri's career record book. Senior Jennifer Nobis is tied for first in game-winning assists (nine), third in points (87), assists (27), game-winning goals (nine), shots (255) and shots on goal (118) and is tied for third in goals (30). Senior Amber Swinehart is tied for third in games played (82), tied for fourth in game-winning goals (seven), sixth in shots (135) and eighth in shots on goal (58). Senior Erica Pusch is tied for fifth in games started (74) and seventh in games played (80). Sophomore goalkeeper Laura Buehrig finds herself ranked second in goals against average (1.38) and goals allowed (50), third in wins (16), shutouts (seven), minutes in goal (3211:32), tied for third in games played (36) and games started (36) and fourth in saves (156).
ABOUT KANSAS
The Jayhawks are 10-6-2 on the season, including an impressive 5-1 in their last six games. Most recently, Kansas bested Texas 2-1 in Lawrence. In 2005, the Jawhawks also have wins over Missouri State, Arkansas, San Diego, UC Irvine, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Colorado College. Kansas earned ties against Michigan and Nebraska and lost to Wisconsin, Pepperdine, Purdue, Texas A&M, Iowa State and Colorado.
Two-time All-American Caroline Smith, a senior forward, paces the Jayhawks with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points in 2005. Senior forward Jessica Smith and freshman midfielder Jessica Busch both have four goals, with Busch also contributing five assists. In net for the Jayhawks, freshman Julie Hanley has made five consecutive starts and seen action in nine games this season. On the year, Hanley is 6-1 with a 0.81 goal against average and a .850 save percentage.
COMMON OPPONENTS
The Tigers and Jayhawks have 11 common opponents on the season. In those games, Missouri is 5-4-2 while Kansas has a 6-4-1 mark. Both squads beat Baylor, Colorado College, Oklahoma State and Texas and fell to Colorado and Texas A&M. The Tigers defeated Purdue and tied Iowa State, while the Jawhawks lost to both teams. Kansas posted wins against Texas and Oklahoma, whom the Tigers lost and tied, respectively. Additionally, the Jawhawks tied Nebraska while Missouri fell to the Huskers.
MU VS. THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas holds a 6-5 lead over Missouri in the series. Last season, the Tigers fell to No. 6 Kansas 3-1 at home. The Jayhawks ended Missouri's season in 2003 after defeating the Tigers 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.