Sept. 7, 2007

Box Score

Iowa City, Iowa - The 23rd-University of Missouri women's soccer team (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) won its third game in a row with a 2-0 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes (0-1-2, 0-0 Big Ten) Friday night in Iowa City. Tiger sophomore Kristin Andrighetto scored her fourth goal of the season and Krista Kruse netted her first goal of her career to lead the Tigers to a 3-0 start. The Tigers kept several streaks going; three wins in a row, six wins in a row over Iowa and 11 in a row over teams from the Big Ten. The Tigers have also held the Hawkeyes scoreless in each of the six games between the two schools.

The Tiger defense set the tone in Mizzou's first shutout of the season. The defense and midfielders shut out the Hawkeyes by keeping the ball out of Mizzou's own end and knocking away many Iowa attempts to get to the goal. Defenders Kat Tarr, Lindsay McCoy and Crystal Wagner made many solid plays to take away opportunities. Iowa only got off four shots on the night, and only three on goal. Tiger goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore saved all three, earning her first shutout of her Mizzou career and third of her collegiate career (other two with Dayton).

But the Hawkeyes also played solid defense, holding the Tigers to nine shots, with three on goal. This was a sharp contrast from Mizzou's last game, a 5-2 win over Western Michigan (Sept. 2) when the Tigers recorded 36 shots.

"You've got to hand it to Iowa's defense," Tiger Head Coach Bryan Blitz said. "We haven't played a team that good defensively in a long time."

The Hawkeyes have been a consistent defensive team on the young season. They only allowed one goal in their first two games, a 1-1 tie against Navy (Aug. 31) and a 0-0 draw against Northern Illinois (Sept. 2).

But Mizzou found a way to get a couple past Iowa keeper Lindsey Boldt, and a couple of newcomers had a hand in the offensive attack.

The Tigers' first goal came in the 26th minute when Tiger freshman Alysha Bonnick passed the ball to Andrighetto who was running into the middle of the box. Andrighetto gathered the pass about 15 yards from the goal and kicked it past Boldt for fourth goal of the year. The Tiger forward led the team with six goals last season.

The Tigers also defended UI's six corner kicks well. Perhaps the closest scoring chance came from Iowa's last corner kick. With about ten minutes left, and the Tigers leading by a slim 1-0 margin, Alexandria Seydel's kick made it all the way across the front of the net, where an Iowa player hit it toward the goal. The ball got past a couple of Mizzou defenders and Tiger goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore deflected it, preserving the Tiger lead. Dittamore finished the game with with three saves, and her first shutout as Mizzou's keeper.

The Tiger offense then added some insurance. In the 84th minute, only a few minutes after the great defensive play, Bonnick passed the ball back to Kruse at the top of the box, about 20 yards from the goal, who shot it past the Hawkeye goalkeeper for the first goal of her career. The score made it 2-0, and sealed the win for Mizzou.

Notes:

Bonnick's two assists were her second and third of the year. She also scored a goal last Sunday (Sept. 2) against Western Michigan, giving the Mizzou freshman five points on the season.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native Ashley Hamblin started the game at forward for the Tigers. She finished with 0 shots.

In first three games, MU has outscored its opponents, 7-0, in the second half.

Up Next:

The Tigers will return to Columbia to face the 2-1-0 Eastern Illinois Panthers Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. As part of a year-long Sunday promotion, tickets for the game are just $1. After the game, the Tiger players will hold their first free post-game youth clinic of the season.