Aug. 27, 2006

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COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Missouri women's soccer team scored three minutes into the game and never looked back as the Tigers handily defeated No. 13 Illinois 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Tiger Invitational. With the win, Mizzou clinched the Invitational title and improved its record to 2-0-0 on the season.

Sophomore Ashley Hamblin continued her offensive onslaught with two goals and an assist for five points in the match. Freshman Bree Thornton also tallied her first two collegiate goals and fellow freshman Michelle Collins added two assists.

Due to goal differential, Iowa (1-1-0) finished second in the weekend Invitational, while Illinois (1-1-0) took third and South Carolina (0-2-0) came in fourth.

The Tigers controlled play early and quickly put the game out of reach with goals in the third, 11th and 13th minutes. Despite Illinois' 16-15 shot advantage, Missouri made the most of their opportunities with nine shots-on-goal to the Fighting Illini's five.

"This was a great team effort today," said Missouri Head Coach Bryan Blitz. "Our offense clicked today and our defense did a great job keeping Illinois away from the goal. Hopefully we can continue this high quality of play as the season goes on."

Just three minutes into the game, the Tigers earned a free kick in Illinois' defensive half. Senior Meggie Malm sailed a ball into the box that senior Elyse Nikonchuk headed past the goalie for a quick 1-0 Mizzou lead.

Eight minutes later, Missouri struck again as sophomore Kat Tarr sent a pass from the Tigers' defensive end to a streaking Hamblin. The sophomore dribbled the ball in the box, past a defender and took a shot just before heading out of bounds. Her shot skirted under the Illinois goalie and into the net to put Missouri up 2-0.

Hamblin struck again in the 13th minute after receiving a pass from Collins. Hamblin collected the ball and raced toward goal in a one-on-one with the Fighting Illini goalkeeper. She calmly ran into the box and put the ball into the back of the net for her third goal of the season and a 3-0 Tiger advantage.

Continuing its trend of striking early, Mizzou added another goal four minutes into the second half after Collins threaded a pass to Thornton. After eluding a defender, the freshman beat the goalie one-on-one with a shot the sailed over the keeper's head.

Thornton added the Tigers final goal of the game in the 77th minute when Hamblin controlled a loose ball in the box and passed to Thornton, who tapped in her second goal of the game from six-yards out.

Forst, Hamblin, Thornton and freshman Crystal Wagner were named to the all-tournament team.

Sophomore Mallory Forst recorded her second-consecutive shutout and made five saves in the game.

The Tigers return travel to Evanston, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 1 for a 3 p.m. game against Northwestern before heading to Minneapolis, Minn., for a matchup with Minnesota on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. Both games are part of the Big 12/Big Ten Challenge.

2006 Tiger Invitational All-Tournament Team
Mallory Forst, Missouri
Ashley Hamblin, Missouri
Bree Thornton, Missouri
Crystal Wagner, Missouri
Ali Becker, Iowa
Melisa Kaetterhenry, Iowa
Sarah Stephenson, Iowa
Marti Desjarlais, Illinois
Kristy Weeks, Illinois
Kimmy Gillespie, South Carolina
Blakely Mattern, South Carolina