Tigers face Texas A&M on ESPNU on Sunday
10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 16, 2008
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COLUMBIA, Mo. - After a home contest against Francis Marion (2-10-1) on Friday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m., the No. 20 University of Missouri soccer team travels to College Station, Texas, for an important conference matchup with No. 6 and Big 12 leader Texas A&M (12-1-1) at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. The Tigers' (9-4-0, 4-2-0) game against the Aggies will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU with veteran play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins and U.S. National Team member Cat Whitehill with the call.
Last Time Out
The Tigers (9-4-0, 4-2-0) continued Big 12 play in Oklahoma last weekend and recorded a 2-0 win over Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 10 and a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 12 Oklahoma State on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Sophomore forward Alysha Bonnick got the Tigers on the scoreboard early, netting her fifth of the season in the eighth minute. Moments after senior Kat Tarr's header was cleared off the line by an Oklahoma defender, junior midfielder Meghan Pfeiffer's pass found Bonnick alone in the left side of the penalty area and the striker powered the shot high inside the near post. Missouri's lead doubled four minutes later as junior Kristin Andrighetto's corner kick was tapped in by an opportunistic Collins. With freshman Kelsey Blincow challenging the Oklahoma goalkeeper, the backpost service deflected across the goalmouth where Collins was waiting on the post for the simple finish.
Two days later Missouri jumped to an early lead in the 13th minute. Stealing the ball off a Cowgirls' throw-in deep in their own end, junior Michelle Collins worked the ball into Andrighetto who poked a pass to Bonnick at the top of the box. The striker turned and struck a low shot to the right side to open the scoring. Less than three minutes later, junior forward laid the ball off to Andrighetto, whose shot from 25 yards out went through the hands of OSU goalkeeper Erin Stigler and into the net.
Oklahoma State cut the Missouri lead in half in the 55th minute, on a goal by junior Siera Strawser. OSU senior Yolanda Odenyo beat the Tigers' defense to the endline and played a ball back to Strawser, whose first time shot from eight yards out went inside the far post. Odenyo was the key figure again for the Cowgirls as they equalized in the 71st minute. Sophomore Annika Niemeier crossed the ball to Odenyo who redirected it in for her conference-leading 11th goal of the season.
In the overtime session, Oklahoma State scored on its first shot, which was placed into the top-right corner by Katie Richardson for the Cowgirl victory.
Tigers in the Polls
Following the road results, Missouri fell four spots to No. 20 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings this week. While also receiving votes in the NSCAA/adidas top 25 poll, the Tigers climbed to fifth in their Central Region Rankings this week. Missouri also improved one spot in the Soccer Times Top 25 poll, moving to No. 24 this week. Missouri's four losses this season have come against strong competition, falling to current No. 24 Illinois in overtime and on the road at current No. 14 California, current No. 33 Nebraska in double overtime, and most recently, current No. 10 Oklahoma State in overtime.
Conference Play in Full Swing
Six games down, four to go – that's the status of the Tigers' Big 12 play as they enter the homestretch of their conference schedule. Missouri currently sits in third place in the Big 12 standings with 12 points, trailing first place Texas A&M and second place Colorado. With a non-conference matchup with Francis Marion on Friday, the Tigers must pick up points at No. 6 Texas A&M on Sunday to improve their standing.
As expected, the Big 12 has proven to be one of the toughest conferences in the nation this season, with as many as five teams currently in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings: No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 10 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Texas, No. 15 Colorado and No. 20 Missouri. Coming off a fourth place finish in 2007, the Tigers were picked to finish third behind Texas and Texas A&M in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll. Soccer America also credited Missouri's chances of claiming the conference title, writing in their daily edition of College Soccer Reporter earlier this season: “Missouri is looking like it could be a Big 12 contender.”
RPI Rankings
The NCAA revealed the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) power rankings of the 2008 season on Oct. 7th, with the Tigers landing at No. 22 on the list. The RPI weights a team's strength of schedule in relation to their performance and will be updated throughout the remainder of the season. The top 25 ranking rewards Missouri's challenging non-conference schedule in which the Tigers faced quality teams from the Big Ten, SEC, and Pac Ten conferences.
The RPI rankings are also used in the selection process for the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Missouri received at an-large bid and the right to host as the Tigers reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling in double overtime to eventual national champions USC.
Two Upcoming Matches on National Television
ESPNU has selected the Tigers for two of their four regular season NCAA women's broadcasts this season. Mizzou's match at No. 6 Texas A&M on Oct. 19 will air live at 1:30 pm CT from College Station, Texas. One week later, the Tigers host No. 12 Texas at 1 pm CT with the game televised on a tape delay at 4:30 pm CT.
The games will feature three of the top teams in the Big 12 last year, with both contests rematches of dramatic games a season ago. In their 2007 conference opener, Missouri upset No. 4 Texas A&M 3-2 in double overtime on an Andrighetto goal with 32 seconds remaining in front of 1,545 fans at Walton Stadium. Nearly a month later on the road at No. 7 Texas, the Tigers scored twice in the opening 10 minutes before the Longhorns fought back for a 3-2 overtime win.
Veteran play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins will be paired with US Women's National Team defender Cat Whitehill in the broadcast booth for both matchups.
Well Balanced Attack
After a slow first few games to the season, the Missouri offense has been producing plenty of goals as of late -- 22 in its last eight games – and the onslaught has been via a collective effort. The Tigers' 24 goals this season have come from 10 different players, and a total of 12 players have tallied at least a point. Andrighetto leads the team with six goals and 14 points, followed by Bonnick and Collins, who have 13 and 12, respectively. Missouri has only been shutout once this season and has scored multiple goals in nine of their last 10 games. Starting
Strong as of Late
After not scoring a goal in the first half in the team's first five games this season, Missouri has now struck in the opening half in each of its last eight, including all four goals scored last weekend. The Tigers' defense has followed suit, not allowing a first-half goal in the team's last four games.
Nevertheless, the Tigers have continued to assert themselves as a strong second-half team this season and the statistics certainly support it: 14 of the team's 24 goals have come in the second half while the Missouri defense has allowed just five second half goals in 13 games. Accordingly, the Tigers have nearly doubled opponents in second half shots this season, earning a 151-76 advantage in that statistic.
Tigers Among League Leaders
Within conference play so far this season, Missouri has fired the second most shots (133), scored the third most goals (12), and posted the second most shutouts (four) among all Big 12 teams. Individually, Andrighetto is first in points (11), points per game (1.83), goals (five), goals per game (0.83) and game winning goals (two). Collins also is atop the chart in assists (four) and assists per game (0.67), while Bonnick is third in the conference in goals scored (four), points (nine), and points per game (1.5). Finally, Dittamore leads the Big 12 with six total shutouts and a 0.46 shutouts per game average.
Andrighetto Climbing the Charts
Andrighetto is making her mark felt on the Missouri career record books this season. Having already moved up the career charts to fifth for shots on goal, fourth on the career shots list and sixth on the Tigers' career points chart this season, Andrighetto's game winning goal in the upset win over No. 15 Colorado on Oct. 3 was her ninth of her college career, moving her into a tie for third place on the Missouri career game winning goal list with Jennifer Nobis (2002-05). Andrighetto was an All-Big 12 first team selection as a sophomore last season, only the second Missouri player to ever receive such recognition, after tallying 14 goals and nine assists.
Tigers Take Advantage of Depth
Head Coach Bryan Blitz has been making the most of his roster in Missouri's 2008 campaign. All 20 players used thus far have seen at least 160 minutes of action and 19 of the 20 have started as least one game. Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore leads the team with over 1191 minutes, missing just six seconds this season due to injury. Missouri's veteran backline of senior Janelle Cordia, senior Kat Tarr, and junior Crystal Wagner have all logged over 1086 minutes. Of the incoming class, top-75 recruit Kelsey Blincow has become the most consistent starter earning 583 minutes, while Mallory Stipetich has come off the bench to score twice for the Tigers this season.
Dittamore and Wagner Receive Weekly Honors
After their strong defensive showing in the Tigers' shutout wins over No. 15 Colorado and Texas Tech, Dittamore and Wagner each earned recognition by national awards this week.
Wagner was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's College Team 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. The Houston, Texas, native is the first Missouri player to receive Top Drawer Soccer's team of the week recognition this 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 selected Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after making six saves on the weekend. The two shutouts came against nationally-ranked offenses and upped her season total to six to set a new Missouri single-season record. Sunday's shutout win over the Red Raiders also moved her into second place on the career shutout list with nine total, passing Jackie Adamec (1997-00), and into fifth place on the career wins chart with 14 career victories.
Scouting Francis Marion
Francis Marion enters its game with Missouri sporting a 2-10-1 record but winners of its last two games. The Patriots, and NCAA Division I independent, started 2008 with a nine-game losing streak but are 2-1-1 in their last four games. On Oct. 5 the squad earned it's first win of the season with a 2-1 win over Liberty University (Va.), followed by a 1-0 victory over Wintrop University (S.C.)
Overall, Francis Marion has scored seven goals in its 13 games this season and allowed 24. Freshman goalie Casey Durham has started all the past four games in net for the Patriots and has a 2-1-1 record, including one shutout.
Freshman forward Amanda Hall leads the Patriots with three goals for six points, while junior midfielder Angela Salem has a goal four four assists for six points.
Scouting Texas A&M
The Aggies (12-1-1, 5-0-1) enter this weekend's play in first place in the Big 12 and ranked as high as No. 6 nationally. The reigning Big 12 Champions boast a five game winning streak and 11 game unbeaten streak entering their match Friday, at Kansas, before returning home to host Missouri on Sunday. ESPNU will be broadcasting the match live at 1:30 pm CT from Aggie Soccer Complex, where Texas A&M has averaged a league-best 3,600-plus in attendance this season.
In conference competition, Texas A&M has allowed just one goal in its six games, posting a league-best 0.16 goals against average and five shutouts. A big part of that defensive unit is sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Dyer. The reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week – her third such honor this season – took over for junior Kristin Arnold, a Preseason All Big 12 selection who was injured in the Aggies' lone loss this season against current No. 2 North Carolina in August. Dyer ranks No. 12 in the nation in goals against average (0.493) and No. 9 in save percentage (0.889), both conference-bests.
On the other end of the field, the Texas A&M offense – ranked no. 14 in the nation -- is led by a trio of players: senior midfielder Laura Robinson, freshman forward Jennifer Kmezich, and sophomore forward Rachel Shipley each have 12 points on the season. The Aggies are second in the conference in overall points (103), goals (37), goals per game (2.64), assists (29), and assists per game (2.07).
Head coach G.Guerrieri's squad went 18-4-2, 9-1-0 last season with the lone conference loss coming in Columbia on September 28th. Missouri upset the Aggies, ranked No. 4 at the time, 3-2 in a double-overtime thriller courtesy of an Andrighetto goal with 34 seconds remaining in the match. The all-time series stands at 10-4-0 in Texas A&M's favor.
Mizzou Soccer Online
In addition to the official news, photos, statistics and more that are available on the newly designed mutigers.com, the Missouri soccer program is complementing the team's coverage with several supplementary sites for fans, alumni, and recruits. The team has continued to update ThisIsMizzouSoccer.com since its debut this spring, which features a coach's blog, photos and video of the team in action, team information and much more. Additionally, Missouri was the first school to launch its customized team page on the recently unveiled GoCollegeSoccer.com. Finally, the team launched a MizzouSoccer Twitter account last week to provide instant updates and information on the team, as well as a MizzouSoccer YouTube channel to post match footage. The Tigers are excited to continue highlighting their program in the national spotlight via all of these resources and to provide up close and timely coverage of the team for all those who follow Mizzou soccer.
