Oct. 7, 2008

COLUMBIA, Mo. A pair of University of Missouri soccer players earned weekly honors for their defensive play in No. 16 Mizzou's shutout wins over No. 15 Colorado and Texas Tech last weekend. Junior defender Crystal Wagner earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's College Team of the Week and junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore was selected the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Recognized for her role in central defense, Wagner played all 180 minutes last weekend and leads all field players with 996 this year as she helped Missouri improve its record to 8-3-0 overall and 3-1-0 in the Big 12. The Houston, Texas, native is the first Missouri player to receive Top Drawer Soccer's team of the week recognition this season after senior defender Lindsay McCoy and junior forward Michelle Collins were both selected on separate occasions last season. It is Wagner's second career team of the week honor as she was chosen to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week as a freshman in 2006.

Dittamore was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after making six saves in a 1-0 upset of No. 15 Colorado and a 3-0 win over Texas Tech. The two shutouts upped her season total to six to set a new Missouri single-season record. The Granite City, Ill., native has played every minute in goal this season for the Tigers, making 43 saves and posting a 0.89 goals against average. She also earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 2 after shutting out Auburn on Aug. 29, a team that came into the game averaging over five goals per contest.

The Tigers, ranked 22nd in the NCAA Women's Soccer Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) travel to Oklahoma this weekend for a 7 p.m. contest against Oklahoma on Oct. 10 and a 1 p.m. game with No.12 Oklahoma State on Oct. 12.