Tigers Announce Spring Schedule
2/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Feb. 25, 2008
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri women's soccer team has announced its spring schedule, which includes home matches against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (April 6) and Loyola (April 19). The Tigers will also play Illinois in Maryland Heights, Mo., (April 5) and Minnesota in Kansas City, Mo. (April 12).
The Tigers, who finished the 2007 season with a 13-8-1 record and a No. 22 ranking in the final Soccer Times poll, return all their players from last year's team. They are already hard at work in their spring practice routine, as they try to build on last season's success.
They will get into real game action when the spring game schedule starts with a match against rival Illinois April 5 in Maryland Heights, Mo. The game will be a part of the M. C. United Spring Tournament at Sportport. Game time is set for 1 pm.
The Tigers beat Illinois, 3-1, in Champaign, Ill., last fall, and hold a 4-2 series lead. After that game, the Illini went on to have a successful season, going 12-7-2 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Notre Dame. 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.
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.
On April 12, the Tigers will head west to Kansas City, Mo., to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Schneider's other former team. The game time will be announced at a later date.
The Gophers finished the 2007 season with a 9-8-2 record, and they lose no starters from last year's team. The Tigers won the only meeting between the schools, 1-0, in 2006, in St. Paul, Minn.
Mizzou will finish the spring season with a home contest against the Loyola Ramblers, the team that beat UWM to make the NCAA tournament in 2007. Loyola lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament, finishing the season 14-9-1. The game, part of the Alumni Weekend celebration, is set for noon on Saturday, April 19. Mizzou Soccer's golf outing will also be held on the 19th.
Admission to both of the home matches is free.
Schedule
April 5 - Mizzou vs. Illinois - 1 pm Maryland Heights, Mo. (Part of M. C. United Tournament)
April 6 - Mizzou vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee - 11 am Columbia, Mo. (One of two spring home matches)
April 12 - Mizzou vs. Minnesota - TBA Kansas City, Mo. (At the Kansas City Wizards Training Facility)
April 19 - Mizzou vs. Loyola - Noon Columbia, Mo. (On Alumni Weekend)
