Nov. 14, 2007
Columbia, Mo. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The University of Missouri women's soccer team (13-7-0) will welcome the University of Southern California (14-3-2), Southeast Missouri State University (12-2-3) and Creighton University (11-7-2) to Columbia for the first and second rounds Nov. 16 and 18, respectively. Mizzou will play Southeast Missouri State Friday (Nov. 16), at 7 p.m. while one of the tournament's four No. 2 seeds, Southern California, will face Creighton at 4 p.m. The winners of the two first round games will play Sunday (Nov. 18) at 1 p.m.
Four Solid Teams to Play in Columbia
USC, one of four No. 2 seeds in the national bracket, comes to Walton Stadium as the highest seed out of the four teams. They are ranked ninth in the current SoccerTimes.com poll, and they finished second in the Pac-10 Conference. USC went 4-2-2 in eight games this season against NCAA Championship teams. Southeast Missouri won both the Ohio Valley regular season and tournament championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship for the second straight season. Creighton defeated Illinois State in the final of the Missouri Valley tournament, after earning a No. 3 seed for their play during the regular season.
Tigers in the National Rankings
Mizzou's offense is ranked 11th, nationally, entering the NCAA Championship. The Tigers boast a 2.6 goals per game average. Additionally, Andrighetto is 13th in points per game with an 1.85 ppg average. Bonnick and Collins sit in 34th and 58th, respectively in that category.
NCAA Tournament History
Mizzou is 1-2, all-time in the NCAA Tournament. All three games were played at Walton Stadium in Columbia in either the first or second round. In 1999, the Tigers lost to Marquette, 2-3, in the fourth overtime period in the first round. In 2003, Mizzou hosted the first and second rounds of the tournament, beating Eastern Illinois, 1-0, in the first round, and falling to Kansas, 2-0, in the next.
Lucky No. 13
With Mizzou's win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship, they earned their 13th win of the season. MU's 13 win total ties the 2001 team for the second-most wins in program history. The 1999 Mizzou team holds the program record with 14 victories.
Andrighetto Blasting Through Record Books
Andrighetto has now scored 14 goals on the season, the most by a Tiger since 1999, when Nikki Thole scored 23 and Erin Grimsley finished with 16. Andrighetto is only the third Tiger, behind Thole and Grimsley to score at least 14 goals in a season. Andrighetto has broken the program record for shots in a season, with 103. She is in second place on the all-time season list with 45 shots on goal. Career-wise, she is now seventh with 50 points, and sixth with 20 goals.
Bonnick Sets Freshman Records
Bonnick has scored 11 goals on the season, the most ever a Tiger freshman, and the most by a Tiger newcomer since Erin Grimsley scored 14 in 1998. Bonnick has also added the most assists (9) and points (31) by a freshman in program history. She has also scored the most game-winning goals (5) by a freshman in program history. Her next game-winner would tie Thole and Swinehart with the program lead for a season.
Tigers Earn Conference Awards
The University of Missouri women's soccer team earned numerous Big 12 postseason honors for their outstanding play during the 2007 regular season. Tiger Head Coach Bryan Blitz was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year, while freshman forward Alysha Bonnick was named the league's Rookie of the Year.
Andrighetto was selected to the All-Big 12 first team, and Kat Tarr, Mo Redmond, Meghan Pfeiffer and Michelle Collins were selected to the second team. Additionally, Tasha Dittamore, Katya Hessel and Bonnick were named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.
2007 Big 12 Awards
Coach of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year
Ashlee Pistorius, Texas A&M
Defensive Player of the Year
Kasey Moore, Texas
Rookie of the Year
Most Road Wins
The Tigers are 5-3 on the road this season. Their five wins is a new program record, besting the 1999 and 2004 squads who each earned four victories away from Walton Stadium.
Nearing Shutout Record
The Tigers' next shutout would tie the program record of seven, set in the 2005 season.
Many Offensive Contributors
The Tigers offensive attack is not a closed-door meeting for forwards only. Defender Kat Tarr has scored four goals on the season, including two on penalty kicks. Midfielder Mo Redmond has two goals on the year, to go along with her seven assists. Midfielder Katya Hessel has two goals, while fellow midfielders Janelle Cordia, Krista Kruse and Meghan Pfeiffer each have one.
Mizzou's Weekly Honors
Bonnick, Collins, Andrighetto and Kari Adam each earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors during the regular season. Collins was named the Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4, after scoring three goals over the first weekend of action, including two in the Tigers' 3-1 win over then-No. 20 Illinois. Bonnick earned the Newcomer of the Week award on Sept. 25, as she recorded seven points, including two game-winning goals as then-No. 20 Missouri defeated then-No. 19 Cal and TCU to improve to 6-2 on the season. Adam scored the first two goals of her career in Mizzou's conference opening, 3-2, double overtime upset of No. 3 Texas A&M Sept. 28, winning the Newcomer of the Week award. Andrighetto won the Offensive Player of the Week award for that same week, as she scored two game-winning goals during the first weekend of conference action. In the Tigers' 3-2 double overtime win over No. 3 Texas A&M (Sept. 28), Andrighetto netted Mizzou's game-winning goal in the last minute of the second overtime period. The Pleasant Hill, Calif., native followed up that performance on Sunday recording her ninth goal of the year in the 4-2 victory over Baylor.
More Weekly Awards...
Collins was named to the TopDrawer Soccer Women's College Team of the Week and the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week for her efforts during the first week of the season. Andrighetto was named to the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week, after scoring two goals and assisting on three, in Mizzou's wins over California and TCU. Bonnick was also selected to the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week on Sept. 25. Tarr, a Mizzou junior defender, was selected to the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week and the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week on Oct. 2. Lindsay McCoy was selected to the TopDrawer Soccer Women's College Team of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7.
Goal Differential Impressive
The Tigers are out-scoring their opponents, 52-30, this season, a difference of 22 goals. That number would be a new program record if the season ended today. Both the 1998 and 2001 teams finished the season with 18 more goals than their opponents, and the 1999 team finished with a 17 goal advantage.
McCoy Earns Academic Honor
Near the end of the season, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selected Tiger junior defender Lindsay McCoy to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 University Division Soccer second team.
Third Place Finish Ties 1999 Team
Mizzou tied Kansas for third in the conference's final regular season standings with 18 points. The Jayhawks earned the third seed in the championship, however, as they took the head-to-head meeting Friday (Nov. 2) in Lawrence. The Tigers tied the 1999 team with their tie for third, as that team also finished third, after they went 6-3-1 in the league to tie Baylor with 19 points.
Attendance Record in Reach?
The Tigers have drawn 6,154 fans to Walton Stadium for Mizzou's nine home games this season, a program-high average of 684 per game. Mizzou needs 1,077 more fans to break the single season record of 7,230 set by the 1999 Tigers.
Scouting the Field
Southeast Missouri
The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship for the second straight season. Southeast won all four major conference awards, including Coach of the Year recognition for Head Coach Heather Nelson. The Tigers and Redhawks will meet for the first time Friday.
Redhawk Offense
Southeast Missouri has scored 37 goals in 17 games this season, an average of 2.18 per game, which tops the OVC. They are also second in assists per game, dishing out an average of 1.65 per game. Their top offensive player, Courtney Alexander, was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Year. She comes into the NCAA Tournament with eight goals and six assists. She is not the team's leading goal scorer, however. That title goes to freshman forward Ashley Runion, the conference's Freshman of the Year. Runion leads the team, and the league, with a 1.59 goals per game average, scoring 11 goals in 17 games.
Southeast Defense
The Redhawks have only given up 13 goals this season, the fewest in the OVC. They are also tied with Samford for the lead in shutouts, with nine. Two Southeast Missouri midfielders earned conference honors, with senior Margie Schaeffler earning first team honors, and Vanessa Heart earning second team honors.
OVC Defensive Player of the Year
Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Pickering claimed the OVC Defensive Player of the Year award, after posting the league's lowest goals-against average (0.62) and the most shutouts (8) and an .880 save percentage.
USC
The ninth-ranked University of Southern California Trojans earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship after finishing second in the Pac-10 with a 6-2-1 league record. USC will be making their third straight NCAA tournament appearance, and ninth appearance overall. The Trojans went 4-2-2 against opponents that made the NCAA Championship, including wins over Georgia, California and Portland.
Trojan Offense
The USC offense has scored 37 goals on the season, an average of 1.95 per game, which ranks second in the Pac-10 this season. Amy Rodriguez leads the Trojans with 17 points (7g, 3a), while Megan Ohai has added six goals. Eight other Trojans have scored goals on the season, including Lauren Brown and Alyssa Davila, who each have knocked in five.
Defense Anyone?
The Women of Troy have only given up 12 goals in 1754 minutes this season, giving them a 0.616 goals-against average that ranks 18th in the nation going into the post-season. Only top-ranked UCLA, who has given up 10 goals all season, ranks higher in the Pac-10. It has been a joint effort for USC on defense, with defenders Amy Massey, Kelley Finch, Karter Haug and Janessa Currier each seeing playing time in their last game against Washington State (Nov. 11).
Goalkeper of Troy
USC keeper Kristin Olsen is one of the best, statistically, in the Pac-10. She ranks third in goals-against average (0.64) and third in save percentage (.812) while earning seven shutouts, which ranks second in the league. One of her best assets in goal might be her height. At 6'0", she is the tallest player on the Trojan squad.
Creighton
The Creighton Bluejays won the Missouri Valley Conference Championship by out-scoring regular season champion Illinois State, 4-3, in the penalty kick shootout that decided the Valley Champion Sunday (Nov. 11). The Bluejays and Redbirds were tied at 1-1 at the end of the second overtime period. Creighton finished third in the conference's regular season standings. Mizzou is 1-0 all-time against Creighton, taking a 4-1 victory in Columbia in 2000.
Bluejay Offense
Creighton has scored 28 goals on the season, which ranks third in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton's All-Missouri Valley first team forward Marcy Gans leads the team and conference with 13 goals and 29 points. Emily Orbell, a second-team selection, is second on the squad with six goals. Toch Ihemelu has scored two, and six other Bluejays have scored one goal each.
Defense in Good Hands
Senior Sam Russell, an All-Missouri Valley first team defender, leads the defense that ranked third in the conference with a 1.02 goals-against average. The Jays have also earned seven shutouts on the season.
Creighton's Keeper
Bluejay goalkeeper Kristen Casey has played the entire season in net for Creighton, earning 11 wins and seven shutouts. She finished the regular season with a 1.02 goals-against average, which was good enough for third in the Valley.