Aug. 19, 2009
COLUMBIA, Mo - The University of Missouri women's soccer team kicks off the 2009 campaign on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21 at the Iowa Soccer Complex. The Tigers are ranked as high as 13th in the nation entering their 14th season in program history, all under Head Coach Bryan Blitz, and were picked to finish first in the Big 12 preseason poll.
Missouri is coming off a record setting 2008 season that culminated with a Big 12 Championship and second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The team hopes to build off its 16-5-2 record a year ago with the introduction of 10 newcomers and two new assistant coaches in 2009.
UP NEXT
Following the season opener at Iowa on Friday, the Tigers will have a week to prepare for their home opener at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28 against the Northwestern Wildcats. The match is the first of a four-game homestand at Walton Stadium as the team continues non-conference competition.
MU PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN BIG 12
For the first time in program history, the Tigers were picked to finish first in the Big 12 Soccer Preseason Poll as voted on by the conference's coaches. Missouri and Texas A&M tied atop the league standings in cumulative voting points, with the Tigers receiving four of the 11 first place votes. 2008 Big 12 Championship runner-up Colorado came in third with 76 points, while `08 regular season champions Oklahoma State were tabbed fourth with 68 points. Perennial power Texas finished fifth, followed by Kansas, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Baylor, and Iowa State.
THREE TIGERS NAMED ALL-BIG 12 For the second year in a row, the Preseason All-Big 12 Team featured three Missouri Tigers. Seniors Crystal Wagner, Meghan Pfeiffer and Kristin Andrighetto were all selected to the conference preseason team as voted on by league coaches. The three selections were the second most of any team, trailing only Texas A&M's four honorees. Andrighetto is a two-time All-Big 12 first team selection and Pfeiffer is a two-time All-Big 12 second team selection; both players received the recognitions their sophomore and junior seasons.
GETTING TO KNOW IOWA
Iowa enters the 2009 campaign as a program on the rise. Under Head Coach Ron Rainy, the Hawkeyes tallied eight wins in 2007 and nine victories last season - the most the program has recorded since the 2002 season. The team reached the postseason for the second straight year, falling in the Big Ten Tournament to eventual champion Penn State in the opening round.
After losing 13 letter winners for the 2008 season, Iowa saw only two letter winners depart ahead of 2009. In their place, Iowa introduces nine new freshman and red shirt junior Kim White, who transferred from Iowa Western Community College in 2008 but suffered a season-ending injury and did not play. Rainey, in his fourth season, also added former Miami (Ohio) assistant Shane Meridith to his staff.
Co-captain midfielders Jackie Kaeding and Heather Windsor lead the Hawkeyes senior class of seven. Junior Jenna Aleo, an All-Big Ten second team selection last year, anchors the Hawkeyes defense while five goalkeepers are fighting for the starting spot. Sophomore Emily Moran, a 2008 All-Big Ten freshman team honoree, and junior Kali Feiereisel split time in net the first half of the season before Feiereisel broke her arm in the thirteenth game of the year. Defense played an important role for Iowa last season as eight of their nine wins came via shutouts.
On the offensive end, Iowa bolsters their attack with a talented core of midfielders. Kaeding and fellow senior Alex Seydel have started every game of their collegiate careers, while sophomore Morgan Showalter will look to build upon her All-Big Ten Freshman team selection a year ago. Freshman Alyscha Mottershead, a member of Canada's U-17 National Team, will also add to the attack this season. Up top for Iowa is White, who scored a hat trick in the team's black and gold scrimmage last week, sophomore Alyssa Cosnek, who started every match in 2008 as a freshman, and junior Keli McLaughlin, who led the team in scoring last year with 20 points.
The Hawkeyes face a challenging schedule this season as Mizzou will be the first of eight 2008 NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule. Nevertheless, Iowa opens the season with seven of their first nine matches at home where they won a school record seven times in 2008.
Friday's game will be the eighth-ever contest between Missouri and owa, and it marks the seventh straight season in which the two teams have faced off. The Tigers lead the series 7-0-0 and have outscored Friday's opponent 17-1, conceding the Hawkeyes' lone goal in a 2-1 win last year in Columbia, Mo.
MIZZOU SOCCER IN THE TOP 25
The Tigers enter the 2009 season ranked in every national poll after finishing 2008 as high as 10th in the nation. Soccer America magazine rates Missouri highest at No. 13 in their preseason poll released this week, while the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) puts the Tigers 24th and TopDrawerSoccer ranks MU 20th in their 64-team tournament rankings.
BONNICK ON HERMANN WATCH LIST
Junior striker Alysha Bonnick is in consideration for one of the top recognitions in the sport with the NSCAA's announcement of the 2009 Hermann Trophy Watch List. Bonnick is one of 45 players in the country on the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) list of potential award winners and just one of five from the Big 12 conference. The North Gower, Ontario, native led Missouri in scoring last season with 26 points en route to earning Soccer Buzz All-America fourth team honors and All-Big 12 first team accolades. Bonnick was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2007 after recording 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists, all Missouri freshman records.
THREE TIGERS INVITED TO US U-23's
Seniors Michelle Collins, Meghan Pfeiffer and Crystal Wagner all received call-ups to travel to England with the United States U-23 National Team in July for two games against the English U-23 National Team. Only Wagner was able to accept the invitation, and the senior co-captain appeared in all three matches for the USA while abroad. Last season Wagner led a Tiger defense that set school records in 2008 with 12 shutouts and a 0.80 goals against average, earning Soccer Buzz All-Central region second team and NSCAA/adidas All-Central region third team honors.
TOUGH SCHEDULE TO TEST TIGERS
Missouri's 2009 schedule features four reigning conference champions, eight teams that were in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and teams from nine different conferences across the country. The Tigers will play in two weekend tournaments, first travelling to Alabama to face host Auburn and fellow South Eastern Conference rival Vanderbilt. The following weekend, Mizzou goes on the road to Los Angeles for the UCLA Invitational to play Loyola Marymount and a marquee matchup with No. 3 UCLA.
RECORDS TO WATCH IN 2009
Several players are poised to make a move on the Mizzou Soccer record books this season in the career statistical categories. Andrighetto sits in third in shots (266), fourth for game winning goals (nine) and sixth for career points (69) and goals (27). Michelle Collins is sixth in game winning goals (seven), and eighth in assists (16), points (56) and goals (20). Bonnick - as a junior -- ranks third in game winning goals (10) and seventh on both points (58) and goals (22).
Senior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore has set herself apart with a standout 2008 season in net for the Tigers. She currently holds the top spot on the career charts in goals against average (0.91) and goals against (30), is runner-up in win percentage (.719) and shutouts (13), ranks third in wins (22) and sits in seventh in saves (101). Despite transferring as a sophomore from the University of Dayton, Dittamore is fourth in career minutes (2,954:26) and games played (35), and fifth in games started (33).
NEW LOOK TIGERS IN 2009
The Tigers return eight starters and 15 of 21 letter winners from their successful 2008 squad but there are plenty of new faces as the Tigers kick off the 2009 campaign. Missouri signed one of its largest incoming classes in program history with the arrival of nine freshmen and a senior transfer for the 2009 season. Freshmen goalkeeper Jessica Gwin and freshman midfielder Haley Krentz were both named to TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100 Players to Watch, while Michelle Makasini comes to Columbia from LSU after earning TopDrawerSoccer All-American honors as a freshman and sophomore.
All told, the Tigers have a balance of 11 upperclassmen (seven seniors and four juniors) and 16 underclassmen (six sophomores and 10 freshmen) that hail from nine different states and Canada. Additionally, three new coaches will be on the sideline for the Tigers. Shaunna Daugherty, formerly an assistant at Illinois State, and Todd Shulenberger, from Clemson, join the Missouri coaching staff as assistants, while volunteer assistant Danny Graville enters his first season in charge of fitness and conditioning for the team.