Friday, November 6
Athens, Ga.
6 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
at
Georgia
Mizzou Soccer to Close Out Regular Season This Week
11/4/2020 10:25:00 AM | Soccer
Tigers to close season at home against Florida, Georgia match canceled
| Tigers Close Regular Season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPPONENT | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | WATCH | STATS |
| Florida | Columbia, Mo. | Sunday, Nov. 8 | 1 p.m. | SEC+ | Stats |
ON TAP THIS WEEK
- Mizzou Soccer (2-2-2) will close out the regular season at home against Florida, Sunday afternoon at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium.
- Kickoff will be at 1 p.m. CT, with the match streaming digitally on SEC Network+. Nate Gatter and Simon Rose will handle the play-by-play and analyst duties, respectively.
LAST TIME OUT
- Mizzou Soccer dismantled visiting-Kentucky early as the Tigers dropped four first-half goals en route to a commanding 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon.
- With the win, head coach Bryan Blitz secured his 250th win at the helm of the program.
- Mizzou started off quick, converting two goals within the first ten minutes courtesy of goals from Macy Trujillo (4') and Lindsey Whitmore (6') to take a commanding lead.
- Later in the half, Mizzou would cement its victory as two Tigers picked up their first career goals in Jenna Bartels' 29th minute steal and score, and Eryka McIntyre's 32nd minute stunner into the top right corner of the net.
- While the Wildcats would grab a penalty kick goal with seconds remaining in the match, the Tigers would hang on to their 4-1 lead to secure their second victory on the season – vaulting them into a tie for eighth place after the match. An Auburn win on Monday would return Mizzou to a tie for ninth with Georgia.
- Mizzou's four first half goals are the most in a half since scoring four in the second half at Georgia on Oct. 23, 2016. The 31:57 it took to score four goals is the third-fastest Mizzou has scored four goals in a match, and the fastest since it took it took 25:22 to score four against Baylor on Oct. 16, 2009.
SCOUTING REPORT
- Florida will have a quick turn around to play on Sunday, playing on the road at Kentucky on Friday night.
- Entering the week, the Gators are 1-4-1 on the season, with their lone points coming off a draw and a win in their first two matches of the season.
- Florida is averaging 1.33 goals per match entering the week, led by Maddy Rhodes' two.
- Suzi Espinoza has started all six matches in goal for the Gators, allowing 12 goals on 73 shots (.500 save percentage).
- Mizzou trails the all-time series 2-8-2, but both wins and both draws have come at home. The last victory over Florida for the Tigers came in 2018 (2-0).
COVID-19 AFFECTS THE SEASON
- Mizzou has had to change both it's season opener and its season finale changed due to COVID-19.
- Sunday's match will be a make-up after the Tigers were originally supposed to open the season at home against Florida on Sept. 19.
- The match was postponed the Monday of game week due to positive COVID-19 cases and subsequent quarantines on Florida's roster.
- Mizzou had the original season finale against Georgia (Nov. 6) canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases and subsequent quarantines on Georgia's roster.
- Due to this being the final week of the SEC regular season, the match against the Bulldogs will not be made up.
BLITZ IN ELITE COMPANY
- Head coach Bryan Blitz – the only head coach in program history – earned his 250th victory with the Tigers in Sunday's 4-1 victory over Kentucky to bring his record at the school to 250-213-38.
- The 2015 SEC Coach of the Year, Blitz is one of four coaches in the SEC to have 250 victories at their current institution.
- Florida's Becky Burleigh, Texas A&M's Gi Guerrieri and South Carolina's Shelley Smith are the only other coaches to reach the milestone, while Auburn's Karen Hoppa (247) is nearing her 250th win with her Tigers.
- Blitz is also fifth amongst his SEC colleagues in career wins with 295, trailing Smith (301), Hoppa (311), Guerrieri (477) and Burleigh (508).
TIGERS RIDING A STREAK
- Mizzou is currently on a three-match unbeaten streak to pick up five points in the SEC race.
- The Tigers picked up 1-1 draws against LSU (Oct. 16) and Mississippi State (Oct. 24) before grabbing three points in a 4-1 win over Kentucky this past Sunday.
- The three-match unbeaten streak is the longest streak for Mizzou in conference play since 2016, when the Tigers picked up seven points against Texas A&M (T, 1-1), Alabama (W, 2-0) and Vanderbilt (W, 2-1), from Oct. 6-14.
- A win or draw on Sunday would be the longest conference unbeaten streak by Mizzou since a five-match unbeaten streak to end the 2015 season.
- W vs. Georgia, 2-0 (Oct. 11)
- W vs. Tennessee, 3-1 (Oct. 18)
- W at Alabama, 2-1 OT (Oct. 23)
- W at Vanderbilt, 1-0 (Oct. 25)
- T vs. Texas A&M, 1-1 (Oct. 29)
THE ROAD TO ORANGE BEACH
- Entering the final week of the season, Mizzou has a chance to separate itself from the middle of the pack in the SEC standings.
- The Tigers are currently fifth in the SEC East with six points in divisional play, eight points overall.
- Due to not every team in the league playing the same amount of matches, seeding for the conference tournament will be decided by points per match.
- Mizzou is tied for ninth in the league with Georgia, with the Bulldogs having possession of the tiebreaker. To move ahead of Georgia in the standings and ensure a first round bye in the SEC Tournament, Mizzou needs a win over Florida.
- The top 10 teams in the SEC standings will receive a first round bye in the SEC Tournament, while the top four teams will receive first and second round byes.
A BALANCED ATTACK YIELDS RESULTS
- Mizzou has established a balanced offensive attack throughout the season, and it ranks in the top 20 nationally in several categories.
- Nine different Tigers have scored a goal on the season, with Macy Trujillo being the only player with multiple goals. Seven players have also logged an assist for Mizzou, bring the total point scorers to 11.
- The 11 different point scorers are tied for fourth in the conference, and trails only South Carolina (13), Florida (12) and Vanderbilt (12).
- Five Tigers have both a goal and an assist on the season, tied for second in the league with Arkansas.
- Nationally, Mizzou is ranked ninth in shots per game (15.33), 14th in goals per game (1.67) and 17th in points per game (4.50).
- In the conference, the Tigers are ranked fourth in points per game (4.50) and goals per game (1.67).
Players Mentioned
2025 Soccer Senior Class Sendoff
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Soccer Postgame Wrap - SEMO
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HIGHLIGHTS: Mizzou Closes Regular Season with 5-2 Rout of Florida
Sunday, November 08
HIGHLIGHTS: Mizzou Soccer Routs Kentucky, 4-1
Sunday, November 01
