@MizzouSoccer Opens Season at Illinois, Hosts Iowa State Sunday

This Week: Friday, Aug. 18 // Sunday, Aug. 20
OPPONENT	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	VIDEO	STATS
at Illinois	Champaign, Ill.	Friday	7 p.m.	Illinois Video	Stats
Iowa State	Columbia, Mo.	Sunday	4 p.m.	SEC Network	Stats

COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Mizzou soccer team officially opens the 2017 season on Friday, Aug. 18 as the Tigers travel to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois at 7 p.m. CT. Mizzou then opens the home portion of its schedule on Sunday, Aug. 20 when the squad hosts Iowa State at 4 p.m. in a match televised live on the SEC Network. Trey Bender and Jordan Angeli will call the action for Sunday's match. The home opener against Iowa State is also Missouri's Pooch at the Pitch promotion.

GAME PROMOTIONS

Pooch at the Pitch (Sunday, Aug. 20)

All dogs welcome
Free Mizzou bandanas for all dogs in attendance

TIGER TIDBITS

Mizzou leads the all-time series with Illinois 5-3-2, including a dramatic 3-2 overtime win in Columbia a season ago
The Tigers are 10-6-1 all-time against Iowa State, although the two teams have not meant since 2011
Missouri returns eight starters from the 2016 team that qualified for the program's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and went 11-7-2 overall and 6-4-1 in Southeastern Conference action
Mizzou was picked to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference in a preseason voting by the league's 14 head coaches
Four Tigers, seniors Kaitlyn Clark and Jessica Johnson, and sophomores Anna Frick and Sarah Luebbert, earned spots on the 2016 SEC Watch List
Clark, an All-SEC second team selection in 2016, played and started 18 matches and notched 11 points on two goals and a team-best seven assists
Johnson comes into 2017 as Mizzou's active career points leader with 31 (on 10 goals and 11 assists). She posted career-best totals of 15 points, five goals and five assists as a junior in 2016
As a freshman in 2016, Frick led all Mizzou field players with 1,756 minutes played. She played every minute of all but one contest at center back, including six overtime contests
Luebbert claimed 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All-SEC second team after compiling 24 points on 10 goals and four assists
The 2016 squad welcomes 10 newcomers to the Mizzou soccer family
Missouri's 2017 schedule features matchups with eight teams that qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including 2016 national champion Southern Cal
In adddition to Southern Cal, the Tigers also face NCAA qualifiers Albany, Florida, Nebraska, Northwestern, South Carolina, Texas A&M and TCU
Mizzou's non-conference schedule, which includes games with seven power five opponents, is ranked as the 11th-toughest non-conference schedule nationally
Additionally, the Tigers' slate is rated as both the toughest full and non-conference schedule among SEC teams
Mizzou Head Coach Bryan Blitz enters his 22nd season at the helm of the Tigers and boasts a 229-179-31 record with the program

MIZZOU PICKED FOURTH IN SEC PRESEASON POLL

Mizzou was picked to finish fourth in the Southeastern Conference in a preseason voting by the league's 14 head coaches
Florida was voted the favorite to win the conference in 2017, followed by Texas A&M in second and South Carolina in third. Arkansas was chosen fifth, Auburn sixth, Tennessee seventh, Vanderbilt eighth, Ole Miss ninth, Alabama 10th, LSU 11th, Kentucky 12th, Georgia 13th and Mississippi State 14th
Points were compiled on a 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, though each coach was not allowed to vote for their own team
Fourth ties Mizzou's highest-ever placement in the SEC Preseason Poll, as the team was also picked fourth in 2013
2017 marks the 25th season of women's soccer in the SEC

FOUR TIGERS NAMED TO SEC WATCH LIST

Four members of the Mizzou soccer team earned spots on the Southeastern Conference Preseason Watch List, the league announced on Aug. 16.
Seniors Kaitlyn Clark and Jessica Johnson were joined by sophomores Anna Frick and Sarah Luebbert on the Watch list
Clark, an All-SEC second team selection in 2016, played and started 18 matches and notched 11 points on two goals and a team-best seven assists. She enters her senior season with 27 career points on six goals and 15 assists. Clark was also an SEC All-Newcomer Team selection in 2014
Johnson comes into 2017 as Mizzou's active career points leader with 31 (on 10 goals and 11 assists). She posted career-best totals of 15 points, five goals and five assists as a junior in 2016
As a freshman in 2016, Frick led all Mizzou field players with 1,756 minutes played. She played every minute of all but one contest at center back, including six overtime contests. Frick helped the Tiger defense notch three shutouts on the year
Luebbert claimed 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All-SEC second team after compiling 24 points on 10 goals and four assists. Her 24 points and 10 goals rank second on Mizzou's all-time freshman list, while the 24 points were the most for a Tiger since 2009

MISSOURI TO FACE TOUGH 2017 SLATE

Missouri's 2017 schedule features matchups with eight teams that qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including 2016 national champion Southern Cal
In adddition to Southern Cal, the Tigers also face NCAA qualifiers Albany, Florida, Nebraska, Northwestern, South Carolina, Texas A&M and TCU
Mizzou's non-conference schedule, which includes games with seven power five opponents, is ranked as the 11th-toughest non-conference schedule nationally
Additionally, the Tigers' slate is rated as both the toughest full and non-conference schedule among SEC teams

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENT...ILLINOIS

The Fighting Illini went 6-11-2 in 2016 but posted a 5-3-1 home record
Junior Patricia George paced Illinois with eight points on three goals and two assists last season
A year ago, Illinois averaged 0.84 goals per game and allowed 1.16
The 2017 squad features 10 freshmen

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENT...IOWA STATE

Iowa State went 10-8-1 in 2016, including wins over SEC foes Auburn and Georgia
Sophomore Klasey Medelberg paced the squad with 10 points on four goals and two assists last year
Additionally, sophomore Emily Steil had a team-high five assists a year ago
The Cyclone defense allowed only 1.05 goals per contest in 2016
Keeper Lindsey Hendon started 19 games in net and posted a 0.88 GAA a season ago

TIGERS EARNED SEVENTH NCAA BID IN 2016

The Tigers returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and earned their seventh berth in program history, including the third NCAA appearance in the last five seasons
Mizzou was pitted against Kansas in the first round on Nov. 13 in a rematch of the Tiger's 3-1 win over the Jayhawks in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament
The match was even, with each team registering three saves and eight fouls. The Tigers had a 12-6 edge in corners and the Jayhawks a narrow 17-14 advantage in shots over the course of the game
After 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, Kansas broke through in the 101st minute to record the win.

2016 FEATURED COMEBACKS APLENTY

The Tigers were never out of contests in 2016, highlighted by the three wins for the team after trailing by two goals
Twice during the year Mizzou recovered from 2-0 deficits to comeback to notch wins, first a 3-2 win over Central Arkansas in the season opener, then a 4-3 victory at Georgia on Oct. 23
Additionally, Mizzou trailed No. 15 Florida 3-1 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals but used goals in the 61st and 62nd minutes to send the game to overtime
Prior to the 2016 season, Mizzou's win after trailing 2-0 was a 3-2 defeat over Kansas on Oct. 21, 2011, when the Tigers scored three times in the final six minutes of regulation

Schedule