Sept. 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The nationally-ranked Missouri soccer team returns to Walton Stadium for contests against undefeated Southeastern Conference foe Vanderbilt on Friday, Sept. 12 and Horizon League opponent Butler on Sunday, Sept. 14. The Tigers will "Kick for Nick" on Sunday in an effort to collect soccer balls for Iraqi children. Kick for Nick honors fallen United States soldier Nick Madaras, who came up with the idea of providing soccer balls to Iraqi children in an effort to bring peace to the country. All fans who bring new or used soccer balls will receive free admission to the game.
Kick for Nick
Mizzou will "Kick for Nick" on Sunday in its game against Butler by asking fans to bring new or used soccer balls to the contest. Nick Madaras, a fallen US soldier from Wilton, Conn., came up with the idea of collecting soccer balls for Iraqi children as a way to spread peace. In Iraq, Nick saw the happiness and hope that soccer brought to the lives of children despite the lack of adequate equipment. While home on leave in July 2006, Nick collected soccer balls to bring back to Iraqi children. He had hoped to continue with his efforts of providing soccer balls but was killed by a IED on September 3, 2006 at the age of 19.
Additional information about Nick Madaras and Kick for Nick can be found at www.kickfornick.com.
Last Time Out
The Tigers first road trip of the season ended on a positive note as the Missouri offense came to life for a 3-0 victory over Eastern Washington on Sunday, Sept. 7th in a neutral site match at the University of California. Bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat a day earlier at the hands of No. 20 Cal, three Tigers scored their first goals of 2008 and junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore made five saves in her second shutout of the season. Freshman midfielder Kelsey Blincow netted the game winner in the 56th minute and Missouri got insurance goals from a superb strike by junior Kristin Andrighetto in the 64th minute and sophomore striker Alysha Bonnick's volley in the 77th minute. The Tigers outshot the Eagles 35-8 as they controlled an overwhelming majority of the game's possession and run of play.
Well-Balanced Attack
Nine different players have earned a point this season for the Tigers, including five different goal scorers for all five Missouri goals. Sophomore forward Kari Adam leads the way with a goal and an assist in 140 minutes of action. The Tigers have outshot opponents 81-49, aided by Bonnick's nine shots against Eastern Washington last Sunday, tying a Big 12 Conference-high this season.
Andrighetto Climbing the Charts
Andrighetto moved into fifth-place on the career shots list in last Sunday's game against Eastern Washington, passing Elyse Nikonchuk (03-06). After setting the single season mark last season with 105, Andrighetto now has 192 total shots in her three seasons and is four shots away from overtaking Adriene Davis (00-03) in fourth-place. Andrighetto is also poised to pass players in two other categories: she needs four shots on goal to tie for fifth-place in that statistic and sits two points back of sixth-place on the career points leader board.
Dittamore Off to a Solid Start
On the other end of the field, Dittamore is making her mark on the Missouri career record books as well. The Granite City, Ill, native moved up to a fifth place tie in career shutouts with Liz LaTour (96-00) following her fifth shutout as a Tiger against EWU. Dittamore is currently in fourth-place this season in the Big 12 with 18 saves and is in third-place for saves per game with a 4.5 average. She is also tied with Kansas goalkeeper Julie Hanley for the second most shutouts in the conference so far this season with two.
Tigers in the Polls
Missouri dropped to No. 34 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings this week, following the split in California. Both losses this season have come to top-25 opponents, falling to current No. 12 Illinois in overtime and on the road at current No. 21 California.
Scouting Vanderbilt
The Commodores (5-0-0) enter Friday night's match as one of only 25 NCAA Division-I women's teams with a perfect record this season; earning road wins over Middle Tennessee State, East Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech, and home overtime victories over Belmont and South Florida.
Head coach Ronnie Coveleskie's squad has outscored opponents 11-2 in those five games and is currently ranked No. 10 in the Soccer Buzz central regional rankings. Sophomore defender Megan Eddings was named the Southeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week and selected to the Soccer America team of the week this week following her first collegiate goal, a game winner against Tennessee Tech on Sunday. The Commodores' attack - which has outshot opponents 141-36, with a 70-12 advantage in shots on goal - is led by freshman Candace West off the bench with two goals and one assist. West is part of a 2008 recruiting class ranked No. 35 nationally by Soccer Buzz (top recruit Chelsea Stewart is not playing for Vanderbilt this fall as she prepares for the U-20 World Cup in November after participating in the Beijing Olympics with the Canadian National Team). Sophomore striker Molly Kinsella is also a key contributor after a superb freshman season in which she led the Commodores with six goals and three assists. Vandy went 6-10-3 in 2007 with a ninth-place finish in the SEC (3-6-2).
Missouri and Vanderbilt have met only once before, in 2006, tying 2-2 in a preseason game played in Nashville, Tenn. After falling behind 2-0, current senior Ashley Hamblin scored both goals in a one-minute span for the Tigers to earn the draw.
Scouting Butler
The Bulldogs (2-3-0) come to Columbia Sunday as part of a four-game road trip, following their match against Saint Louis on Friday night.
Butler is led on offense by junior Carrie Twyman with three goals, including match winners in both of Butler's victories, and on defense by sophomore goalkeeper Laura Baker, who has allowed three goals in five appearances, making 20 saves. Baker also found herself on an unfamiliar part of the scoresheet last weekend, registering her first collegiate assist in the Bulldogs' 3-0 win over IPFW. Head coach Tari St. John's team has been without senior midfielder Angie Muir who tallied 10 goals and six assists in 2007, but was injured in the offseason. Last year Butler went 10-9-1 overall en route to a fourth-place finish in the Horizon League (5-3-0).
Sunday's contest will be the first this season between Big 12 and Horizon League teams. The Bulldogs will face Missouri for the first time in program history, though there is one evident link between the two programs: Tigers' head coach Bryan Blitz. Blitz began his coaching career at Butler -- first as a graduate assistant with the men's team while earning his master's degree in business, then on the women's side as their first-ever head coach in 1991. In his final season there, he led the team to an undefeated run in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and the team's first national ranking, earning the conference's coach of the year award.
Double Duty
Due to the schedule change, the Tigers faced an unprecedented task last weekend: playing on back-to-back days for the first time in regular season program history. The Tigers played two games less than 24 hours apart after facing Cal on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. PT and Eastern Washington at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday, Sept. 7. All told, Missouri has played on back-to-back days five times in Big 12 Tournament postseason play -- most recently in 2003 when the Tigers beat Colorado on Thursday, Nov. 6 to become the first eight-seed to upset the one-seed in the opening round and then followed it up the next day with the team's first ever win over Nebraska to clinch their spot in the conference championship.
Dittamore Earns Weekly Honor
Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 2 for her shutout performance against Auburn on Aug. 29, where she made four saves in earning the victory. The weekly award was the first of her career and the first for a Missouri player in 2008.
Dittamore has played every minute in goal for the Tigers this year after a sophomore season when she compiled a 6-3 record with three shutouts, 21 saves, and a 1.21 goals against average while sharing time with Mallory Forst. She was selected to the 2007 Big 12 All-Newcomer team, having transferred to Missouri from Dayton following her freshman year.
Mizzou Picked to Finish Third in the 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.