Sept. 18, 2005

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri Tigers gave up a goal less than three minutes into the game in a hard fought and physical 1-0 loss to No. 17 Cal Poly on Sunday afternoon at Walton Stadium to halt the Tigers five-game winning streak. Missouri dominated much of the game and doubled the Mustangs' shot total but could not find the back of the net in the Tigers second defeat of the season.

"They're the most physical team that we've seen," said Missouri head coach Bryan Blitz. "We were immediately a goal down in the first three minutes but we're proud of our team because we certainly came back."

"It was frustrating because we just needed one goal," said senior Jennifer Nobis. "We had the shots but they just didn't go in. They came ready to play and ready to win. We were chasing the whole entire game to catch up."

In the third minute, Cal Poly's Sharon Day took a free kick in the Mustangs' defensive end and lofted the ball to Becky Clark in the box. Clark gathered the pass, turned and fired a shot just past Tiger goalie Laura Buehrig into the lower right netting for a quick 1-0 Cal Poly lead.

The Tigers woke up after the Mustang goal and started to attack the Cal Poly defense. Nobis had a breakaway opportunity in the 10th minute but her shot from the right side of the net was saved by the Cal Poly keeper. In the 18th minute, freshman Ashley Hamblin sailed a corner kick into the box that junior Elyse Nikonchuk headed toward the goal. The shot was blocked but Nobis grabbed the rebound and fired a shot high over the crossbar.

In the 31st minute, Nobis collected a ball from freshman Janelle Cordia but her blast flew just wide of the goal to thwart another Tiger chance. The first half ended with Cal Poly up 1-0 despite the Tigers 9-4 shot advantage.

Both teams played strong to start the second half. Hoping to increase its 1-0 advantage, Cal Poly failed to score on two prime opportunities. In the 72nd minute, Day maneuvered around two Tiger defenders and fired a shot that sailed just wide of the goal mouth. 10 minutes later, the Mustangs had a free kick just outside the box but Cal Poly's shot flew high to keep the score at 1-0.

As they did in the last-second, 1-0 win over the College of Charleston on Friday night, the Tigers began to attack with more tenacity in the closing minutes. With five minutes remaining in the game, Nobis dribbled to the right end line and passed across the face of the goal but no Tigers could run down the ball. Freshman Mo Redmond finally collected the loose ball and shot a rocket from deep in the box that sailed high. A foul on Missouri in the box in the 86th minute prevented a corner opportunity after senior co-captain Erica Pusch's free kick was deflected across the goal line.

Missouri's last chance to tie the game failed in the 88th minute when Hamblin sent a ball down the field toward a streaking Nobis but the Mustang keeper came out and gathered the ball just ahead of Nobis.

"Things happen for a reason," said Nobis. "Maybe this is a good lesson for us to come in on Friday night (against No. 14 Texas A&M) and not let down in the first five minutes. All our games will be exactly like this game from here on out so we know exactly what we need to do now."

Missouri outshot Cal Poly 18-9 on the afternoon but only four of those 18 shots were on goal. Both teams were whistled for 12 fouls apiece in the physical game. After giving up the winning goal, Buehrig stopped two saves in the game.

Missouri next takes the field on Friday, Sept. 23 against No. 14 Texas A&M at 7:00 p.m. at Walton Stadium to begin Big 12 Conference play. Last season, the Tigers traveled to College Station and upset the No. 6 Aggies 2-1 while playing a player down for 94 minutes of the overtime contest. Baylor comes to town Sunday, Sept. 25 for a conference matchup at 1:00 p.m. before the Tigers travel to Iowa State and Nebraska the following weekend.