Aug. 24, 2012
TIGERS HIT THE ROAD TO FACE CALIFORNIA
The Tigers hit the road this weekend as the squad travels to Berkeley, Calif., to face No. 15/19 California on Sunday, Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. PT (5 p.m. CT). The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, with JB Long and Krista Blunk on the call.
UP NEXT
Mizzou returns to the comfy confines of Walton Stadium with a pair of home contests next weekend. First, the Tigers host Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31. Then the squad faces off against Tennessee Tech on Sunday, Sept. 2 at 1 p.m.
MIZZOU OPENS SEASON WITH BACK-TO-BACK WINS
Mizzou opened the 2012 season with two impressive wins last weekend. The Tigers got things started with a 5-1 upset over No. 11 Memphis on Friday, Aug. 17. Freshman Candace Johnson notched MU's first tally and senior Taiwo Adeshigbin and junior Alyssa Diggs each scored two goals within a nine minute span. On the other end, the Tiger defense held Memphis to two second half shots.
Two days later, sophomore Abi Raymer scored 30 seconds in and the Tigers used another goal from Diggs to record a 2-0 win over UC Santa Barbara. Both games were played at home at Walton Stadium.
MIZZOU ENTERS THE RANKINGS
Following their 2-0 start to the season, the Tigers jumped to No. 13 in this week's Soccer America poll. Mizzou was also ranked as the No. 2 team in the South Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and received votes in both the NSCAA and Soccer Times national polls.
Candace Johnson HONORED BY SEC, SOCCER AMERICA
Freshman defender started her Mizzou career on a high note as she was named the SEC Freshman of the Week and earned a spot on the Soccer America Women's Team of the Week.
Johnson, a native of Dallas, Texas, helped the Tigers open the 2012 season with a perfect 2-0 record and wins over No. 11 Memphis (5-1) and UC Santa Barbara (2-0). The freshman started both games at defender and scored Mizzou's first goal against the Tigers on Friday in the 15th minute to record her first collegiate tally. She played all 90 minutes in the contest against Memphis.
Against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, Johnson played 70 minutes and helped Mizzou record its first shutout of the young season.
Johnson's SEC honor makes her the first-ever Mizzou player to earn an SEC player of the week award, as the Tigers are in their inaugural season in the conference.
Alyssa Diggs EARNS NATIONAL HONORS
Junior forward Alyssa Diggs was named to two national teams of the week following No. 13 Mizzou soccer's two wins on opening weekend. The Coppell, Texas, native was named as one of CollegeSoccer360.com's Primetime Performers and as College Sports Madness SEC Player of the Week.
Diggs scored three goals in Mizzou's first two games of the 2012 season. In the Tigers' 5-1 upset of No. 11 Memphis on Friday, Aug. 17, she tallied two goals in less than one minute. Two days later, she scored another goal in Missouri's 2-0 defeat of UC Santa Barbara.
OFFENSE FIRING EARLY
Mizzou's offense started the season on fire with five goals against No. 11 Memphis on Aug. 17. The five goals stand as the second-most Missouri has ever scored in a season opener, trailing just a 7-0 domination of Loyola in 1998. Additionally, it marked just the second time Memphis allowed at least five goals in a game over the last six seasons.
MIZZOU ON TV IN 2012
The 2012 schedule features four regular season games on television, kicked off on Aug. 26 with Mizzou's game at California airing on the Pac-12 Network.
The Tigers' road match against South Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 16 will air live on ESPNU at 1 p.m. CT. The contest will also be streamed on WatchESPN. This marks the fifth consecutive season Mizzou will appear on ESPNU. Last season the Tigers defeated Oklahoma, 5-2, on the channel and the 2008, 2009 and 2010 games with Texas A&M also aired on the channel.
The Tigers' matchup against Florida on Oct. 12 will air on Sun Sports and Missouri's road matchup with Texas A&M will air live on SportSouth at 7 p.m. CT. SportSouth is a regional network, however the game will also be made available on ESPN3.com.
The 2012 SEC Tournament final will also be broadcast on ESPNU. The championship match will be played on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 2:30 p.m. CT. The Tournament, which starts on Oct. 29, will be held at the Orange Beach Soccer Complex in Orange Beach, Ala.
MISSOURI PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN THE SEC EASTERN DIVISION
The Tigers were selected to finish fifth in the Eastern Division in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced on Aug. 9.
Florida was selected tops in the Eastern Division by garnering 90 total points (12 first-place votes). Georgia and South Carolina tied for second in the East with 70 points each. South Carolina returns six starters from a team that won its first SEC?regular season championship with a 9-2-0 league record in 2011. Georgia returns nine starters from a team that posted a 13-7-2 mark (6-3-2 in SEC?play) last season.
In the West, Texas A&M was first with 89 total points (12 first-place votes), just ahead of LSU's 74 points (two first-place votes). Texas A&M earned its 17th-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth in 2011, ending last season in the second round with a 16-6-2 record. LSU returns six starters from last year's team won the Western Division with an 8-3-0 record.
| Eastern Division | Western Division | ||
| 1. Florida (12) | 90 | 1. Texas A&M (12) | 89 |
| 2. Georgia | 70 | 2. LSU (2) | 74 |
| 3. South Carolina (2) | 70 | 3. Auburn | 73 |
| 4. Kentucky | 56 | 4. Alabama | 53 |
| 5. Missouri | 42 | 5. Ole Miss | 44 |
| 6. Tennessee | 38 | 6. Arkansas | 29 |
| 7. Vanderbilt | 19 | 7. Mississippi State | 23 |
PLENTY OF FAMILIAR FACES
The 2012 Mizzou soccer team returns nine starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2011 team that finished with a 12-8-1 record, including three Tigers who received all-conference honors a year ago: junior forward Alyssa Diggs (All-Big 12 first team), junior midfielder Dominique Richardson (All-Big 12 second team) and sophomore forward/midfielder Kaysie Clark (Big 12 All-Newcomer Team).
Additionally, the Tigers return six of the top seven scorers from a season ago, including 76.4 percent of its scoring and 79.2 percent of its total points. Overall, Mizzou's 2012 returners combine for a total 277 starts in their Missouri careers, most notably 180 of the 231 available starts in 2011.
Statistical Category Breakdown
| Category | 2011 Leader | % Returning | Top Returner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Nottingham (13) | 79.2 | Nottingham (13) |
| Goals | Richardson (6) | 76.4 | Richardson (6) |
| GWG | Richardson/Blincow (3) | 75.0 | Richardson (3) |
| Assists | Clark (5) | 81.8 | Clark (5) |
| Shots | Raymer (52) | 80.0 | Raymer (52) |
| Shots on Goal | Clark (20) | 81.3 | Clark (20) |
| Saves | Sauerwein (112) | 96.6 | Sauerwein (112) |
FIRST-TIME OPPONENTS
The 2012 Tiger schedule features contests against seven teams that Mizzou has never faced before: UCBS, Tennessee Tech and new conference foes South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and LSU.
Overall, Missouri has a combined 19-21-5 record against opponents on this year's schedule.
CLARK NAMED TO TOP DRAWER SOCCER'S SEC TOP-20
Sophomore Kaysie Clark was named to Top Drawer Soccer's list of top 20 players in the SEC. The forward/midfielder, the only Tiger named to the list, was ranked eighth in the conference. She was joined on the list by three players from Texas A&M, two players from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee and one player each from Kentucky and Ole Miss.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
California is ranked 15th this week's TopDrawer and 19th in this weeks Soccer Times polls. The Bears went a perfect 2-0 to open the season, with a 3-0 win over Pacific on Aug. 17 and a 5-2 win over San Jose State on Aug. 19. Cal hosts No. 21 Santa Clara on Friday, Aug. 24.
Five different Bears found the back of the net in the team's first team games. Sophomore Grace Leer paced the way with three goals, while senior Betsy Hassett notched two. Also recording goals were freshman Ifeoma Onumonu, freshman Celeste Boureille and sophomore Thelma Einarsdottir.
Junior goalie Emily Kruger played all 180 minutes in net and has a 1.00 goals against average and a .500 save percentage.
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