Dec. 15, 2007
Columbia, Mo. - Four University of Missouri women's soccer players were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas All-Central Region teams, the NSCAA announced this week. Two Mizzou forwards, sophomore Kristin Andrighetto and freshman Alysha Bonnick, were selected to the second team; while junior midfielder Mo Redmond and sophomore forward Michelle Collins earned third team honors.
Mizzou's NSCAA/adidas Awards History
Andrighetto, Bonnick, Redmond and Collins join three former Tiger soccer players; Nikki Thole, Erin Grimsley and Dyana Russell, as the only Tigers to earn NSCAA/adidas postseason honors. Russell was Mizzou's last All-Central Region performer, as she was selected to the second team in 2001. Thole made the All-American squad and the All-Central Region first team in 1999, Mizzou's only selection on those two teams.
Mizzou's 2007 Honorees
Andrighetto led the 2007 Tigers in goals (14) and points (37) while adding nine assists to help Mizzou reach historic heights in the polls and their third ever NCAA Championship berth. Her 14 goals were the most by a Tiger since 1999, when Thole scored 23 and Grimsley finished with 16. Andrighetto is only the third Tiger, behind Thole and Grimsley to score at least 14 goals in a season. In her young career, she has already moved up to seventh all-time with 50 points, and sixth with 20 goals.
Nationally, Andrighetto finished the season ranked 21st in points per game (1.68) and 32nd in goals per game (0.636)
One of Andrighetto's biggest goals in her historic 2007 season came against one of Mizzou's biggest rivals, and in front of the third-largest crowd in Walton Stadium history. Over 1,500 fans saw her game-winning breakaway goal in double overtime that gave the Tigers a 3-2 victory over then-No. 4 Texas A&M. That Tiger win helped propel them to their highest ranking in program history, as they jumped to the No. 5 spot in the Soccer America poll after two more wins.
Bonnick, a forward from North Gower, Ontario, is one of only two freshmen on the first or second team. Her honor is just another in a long list so far this post-season. She is the 2007 Big 12 Rookie of the Year, she made the conference's All-Newcomer Team, is a finalist for the Soccer Buzz Freshman of the Year award and she was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer All-Rookie first team. Bonnick finished the season with 11 goals, 10 assists and 32 points, all three new Mizzou freshman records. In the final NCAA statistical rankings, she is 35th in assists per game (0.45) and 45th in points per game (1.45). She ranks fifth among freshman in the assists per game category and eighth in the points per game stat.
Bonnick had many bright spots during the season, including an important assist on Michelle Collins' goal in the first round of the NCAA Championship. Her pass to Collins near the top of the box gave her fellow forward almost a perfect shot on goal, which snuck past the Southeast Missouri goalkeeper to give Mizzou a 1-0 lead. The Redhawks would eventually tie the game, but the Tigers kept them out of the net for the rest of the match, and defeated them, 2-0, in the penalty kick shootout to advance to the second round.
Redmond, the first Mizzou midfielder to earn NSCAA/adidas All-Central Region honors, was selected to the third team after an impressive season highlighted by five game-winning assists. One of her program record tying five game winners came on Andrighetto's goal in Missouri's upset win over Texas A&M in September. In addition to the NSCAA/adidas honor, she was also selected to the All-Big 12 second team after the end of the regular season.
Redmond finished with two goals and seven assists, but her solid play in the midfield, a key factor in her selection, is not quantifiable through statistics. An impressive team stat that Redmond had a hand in, however, was the team's record-setting goal differential mark. Mizzou scored 53 goals in 2007, while only giving up 32, a differential of 21 goals, which is a new program record.
Collins was second on the team with 12 goals and third in points scored, with 30. Like Redmond, she also made the Big 12 second team for her solid play this season.
The sophomore from Naperville, Ill., helped the Tigers jump into the national rankings after the first weekend of the season, as she scored two goals in Mizzou's win over then-No. 20 Illinois and added another in their win over Western Michigan. She was honored by Top Drawer Soccer, Soccer America, Soccer Buzz and the Big 12 for her performance in Mizzou's first two games.