March 28, 2008

Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's soccer team opens the 2008 spring season against Illinois and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Tigers play the Illini Saturday (April 5) at 1 pm in Maryland Heights, Mo. The game will be part of the M. C. United Spring Tournament at Sportport. Sunday (April 6) Mizzou hosts the UWM Panthers at 11 am inside Walton Stadium in Columbia. Admission to Sunday's game is free.

Tigers Find Success in 2007

The Tigers finished the 2007 season with a 13-8-1 record and a No. 22 ranking in the final Soccer Times poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championships. Mizzou's biggest win of the year, a 3-2, double-overtime victory against No. 4 Texas A&M, helped send them to their highest ranking ever, a No. 5 mark by Soccer America.

The successful regular season led to a berth in the NCAA Championships, and the Tigers also earned the right to host the first two rounds of the tournament. Mizzou welcomed Southeast Missouri, Creighton and eventual National Champion USC to Walton Stadium for the first and second rounds. In their first round game, the Tigers tied Southeast Missouri, 1-1, and advanced to the second round by winning the penalty kick shootout. In the second round, Mizzou pushed USC to the limit, taking the game into the second overtime, before the Trojans scored a goal to advance to the next round.

The Tigers expect to return all of their players from the 2007 team, and look to build on the success of last season.

Illinois: Familiar Foe

The Tigers beat Illinois, 3-1, in Champaign, Ill., last fall, and hold a 4-2 lead in the all-time series. After that game, the Illini went on to have a successful season, finishing with a 12-7-2 record that included a trip to the NCAA tournament. They lost to Notre Dame in the second round. While the Tigers will lose no players due to graduation, U of I loses six, including Ella Masar, who was selected to the Lowe`s All-Senior All-America first team at the completion of the season.

For more information on the M. C. United tournament, please visit MCUnited.org.

UWM Panthers Come To Town

On April 6, just one day after the game in Maryland Heights, the Tigers will welcome the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers to Columbia for an 11 am contest inside Walton Stadium.

The Panthers, one of two teams Tiger Assistant Coach Molly Schneider played for during her college career, finished the 2007 season with a 13-4-4 record after losing to Loyola in a penalty kick shootout in the Horizon League Championship Game. The Panthers, despite their 13-win season, did not make the NCAA tournament, as the Horizon League only sent Loyola to the postseason.

UWM won the only meeting between the two teams, beating the Tigers, 1-0, in Madison, Wis., in 2006.

Coming Up Next...

On April 12, the Tigers will head west to Kansas City, Mo., to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Mizzou will finish the spring season with a home contest against the Loyola Ramblers at noon on Saturday, April 19. Mizzou Soccer's golf outing will also be held on the 19th.