Aug. 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Rankings:
MU: 22 (TopDrawer), RV (SoccerTimes.com)
AU: NR
All-Time Series: First meeting
Coaches:
Missouri: Bryan Blitz, 170-159-18 at MU (13th season)
Auburn: Karen Hoppa, 105-67-14 at AU (10th season)
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Missouri soccer team will “Go Green” when resumes its season on Friday, Aug. 29 with a non-conference tilt against Southeastern Conference opponent Auburn at 6:30 p.m. at Walton Stadium. Fans will receive free admission to the match if they bring used cell phones, VHS tapes, DVDs, ink cartridges, rechargable cell phone and camera batteries and other used electronic items to be recycled.
Up Next
After its matchup with Auburn, the Tigers travel to California for a pair of games in Berkeley, Calif. Mizzou first takes on No. 15 California on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. CT). The squad hits the pitch again the following day on Sunday, Sept. 7 for a contest against Eastern Washington at a time to be determined. Both games will take place at Edwards Stadium on Cal's campus.
Tigers 'Go Green'
Friday's match will promote recycling awareness through the Tigers 'Go Green' promotion. The team will collect used electronic items such as cell phones, DVDs and CDs, VHS tapes, video games, print cartridges, etc., at the stadium entrance and in return, is offering free admission to fans who bring these items. Event-specific t-shirts will be worn by the players in the pregame warm-up and several will be thrown into the stands by the players prior to kickoff.
Last Time Out
Mizzou opened the 2008 season with a tough 2-1 overtime loss to No. 17 Illinois on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Fighting Illini struck first in the seventh minute on a one-timer past Mizzou goalie Tasha Dittamore. Mizzou answered three minutes into the second half when junior Michelle Collins settled a pass from classmate Bree Thornton and knocked the ball into the net for a 1-1 game.
The score remained tied until Illinois' Chichi Nweke slotted a shot past Dittamore just three minutes into overtime for a 2-1 Illinois victory.
Tigers in the Polls
Missouri held steady at No. 22 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com rankings this week. The Tigers are poised to enter the Soccer Times weekly poll receiving the most votes of all unranked teams in the Aug. 25 rankings.
Scouting Auburn
The Auburn Tigers enter Walton Stadium with a 2-0 record after two shutout victories last weekend. Auburn opened the season with a dominating 9-0 win over Grambling on Aug. 22 in a game where eight different Tigers scored. Junior forward Stephanie Fransoso led the way with two goals while junior forward Becca Howell dished out three assists. Two days later, Auburn recorded a 1-0 win against UAB on a goal in the 58th minute from junior midfielder Gabi Rivera.
The Tigers are coming off a 10-8-2 season a year ago that say the team earn their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. UCF knocked Auburn out of the tournament with a 3-1 win over the Tigers in the first round.
Tigers vs. Tigers
Friday's match will be the first-ever contest between Missouri and Auburn in women's soccer. The two teams share many similarities as this point in the season: both are coming off of 2007 NCAA Tournament appearances, both are at similar spots in the NSCAA Regional Rankings (MU is seventh in the Central Region, AU is eighth in the Southeast Region), and both received comparable rankings for their recruiting classes by Soccer Buzz (MU = 52nd, AU = 44th).
California Schedule Changes
The Tigers first road trip of 2008 will have a new look the weekend of Sept. 5-7. The game at UC-Davis on Friday, Sept. 5 has been cancelled and Mizzou's game at California has been moved to Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. CT). On Sunday, Sept. 7, Missouri will now play Eastern Washington University in California, at a time to be determined.
Dittamore an Early Conference Leader
After her strong performance in the opener against Illinois, junior Tasha Dittamore's seven saves tied her atop the Big 12 Conference in both saves and saves per game along with Oklahoma's Lisa Jett. Dittamore was a 2007 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team selection despite only appearing in 12 games in goal due to injury last season.
Packing the Stands
Missouri's season opener against Illinois last Saturday lived up to the billing as the two nationally-ranked rivals put on a dramatic overtime showing for the 848 fans in attendance. The crowd was the team's largest for a season opener since nearly 2,000 showed up in 2001 to see Mizzou take on Memphis.
Mizzou picked to finish third in big 12
The Tigers were picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by league coaches. Texas was picked to win the 2008 Big 12 soccer championship after receiving five first-place votes and 94 points. Texas A&M, chosen second, received four first-place votes and 93 points, while Missouri came in third with 77 points and two first-place votes. The remainder of the poll consisted of Oklahoma State in fourth place, followed by Colorado, Kansas, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor.
Three Tigers Named to Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Three Mizzou players, senior Mo Redmond and juniors Kristin Andrighetto and Meghan Pfeiffer, were selected to the 12-member Preseason All-Big 12 team, also voted on by conference coaches. Missouri's three selections tied Texas for the league lead. As a sophomore in 2007, Andrighetto became only the second player in Tiger history to earn All-Big 12 first team honors, joining former All-American Nikki Thole. Redmond and Pfeiffer both earned All-Big 12 second team accolades a year ago.
Mizzou Earns Tie, Win in Exhibition Play
Missouri posted a 1-0-1 mark in exhibition action this preseason. The Tigers first hit the pitch on Aug. 14 and earned a 1-1 tie against Creighton in Omaha, Neb. Both teams were kept off the scoreboard until the 85th minute when Creighton's Kyla Hoskins knocked in a breakaway opportunity. Just one minute later, Tiger freshman Liz Gayer collected a pass from sophomore Krista Kruse and put a 12-yard shot past the Blue Jay keeper to tie the contest at 1-1.
Three days later on Aug. 17, Mizzou's offense came together in a 5-0 win over Illinois State thanks in part to a hat trick from sophomore Alysha Bonnick. Senior Kat Tarr got the Tigers on the board in the 25th minute off a penalty kick after Bonnick was brought down in the box. Freshman Kendra Collins upped Missouri's lead to 2-0 when she beat the Redbird goalie to the far post in the 36th minute.
Bonnick added her first goal just 16 seconds into the second half, off a feed from Kruse and tallied her second when junior Kristin Andrighetto lofted a ball from the goal line and Bonnick headed into the far post. The forward closed out the scoring with just 14 seconds left in the contest when she headed in a pass junior Bree Thornton for a 5-0 Missouri victory.
Offense Galore
Mizzou expects to see little to no offensive drop off in 2008 as the team returns 96 percent of its goal scoring from a 2007 squad that tallied 53 goals on the year and ranked seventh in the nation in scoring offense.
Missouri's big three - Kristin Andrighetto, Michelle Collins, and Alysha Bonnick - are back in Tiger uniforms one year after combing for 99 points on 37 goals and 25 assists last season. Andrighetto's 14 goals were the most by a Tiger since 1999 and her 37 points was the best output since 2001. Bonnick broke just about every freshman scoring record in 2007 with 11 goals, 10 assists and 32 points
Back at Full Strength
One year after suffering season-ending knee injuries, junior Bree Thornton and sophomore Brittany Hopkins are fully recovered and are expected to see significant minutes this season. Thornton started the first seven games for the Tigers in 2007 but suffered her injury against California on Sept. 21 and missed the final 15 games of the season. The then-sophomore had been looked on to contribute on offense after recording 13 points on five goals and three assists as a freshman in 2006.
Hopkins saw action in 11 games in her freshman campaign before she was injured on Oct. 12 in the contest with Oklahoma. The midfielder had posted three starts prior to the injury.
Missouri Turns Heads in 2007
The 2007 Missouri Tigers entered the season with high expectations from themselves but little expected of them from the outside. Mizzou proved the doubters wrong as the team played tough opponent after tough opponent and earned its third NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
The 2007 Tigers finished fourth in the Big 12 Conference standings, recorded a double-overtime upset of
No. 4 Texas A&M, played No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Santa Clara within one goal on the road and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion USC, 1-0, in double-overtime.
Tigers Earn Postseason Honors
An unprecedented eight Tigers earned postseason honors after the 2007 season. Kristin Andrighetto led the way with spots on the Soccer Buzz All-America fourth team, Soccer Buzz All-Central Region first team, NSCAA/adidas All-Central Region second team and the All-Big 12 first team. Alysha Bonnick took home the Big 12 Rookie of the Year award, in addition to Soccer America and Soccer Buzz All-Freshman second team, NSCAA/adidas All-Central Region second team, Soccer Buzz All-Central Region third team and All-Big 12 Newcomer team accolades.
Michelle Collins, Meghan Pfeiffer, Mo Redmond and Kat Tarr were selected to the All-Big 12 second team, Collins and Redmond earned spots on the NSCAA/adidas All-Central Region third team and Redmond was named to the Soccer Buzz All-Central Region third team.
Additionally, Tasha Dittamore and Katya Hessel earned All-Big 12 Newcomer team honors and Head Coach Bryan Blitz was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year.