Extra notes from soccer victory over Auburn
Coach Bryan Blitz made two changes to his starting lineup in Friday night’s 1-0 win.
Senior midfielder Lindsay McCoy and senior forward Ashley Hamblin started, while sophomore midfielder Kari Adam and freshman forward Jessie Crabtree came off the bench. Adam scored the game’s only goal in the 72nd minute. Junior forward Kristin Andrighetto again entered the game in the 10th minute.
Andrighetto, who started 17 of 22 games last year, will attempt to pass MU’s required fitness test for starters sometime between Sunday and Wednesday. A few other players also need to pass, Blitz said.
On the eve of Missouri’s football season, it looked like Auburn and MU were playing football rather than futbol at times. Junior midfielder Meghan Pfeiffer found herself on the ground twice within a couple minutes. If this were an NBA game, every single player would have fouled out. Twice.
Graceful is not a word that describes the style Missouri plays. Against Auburn, the Tigers constantly launched balls into the box from midfield, mainly because Auburn bunched its defenders and midfielders back, preventing MU from advancing the ball towards the net.
Inside the box, it was always a scramble to see who could strike the ball first, with the ball deflecting off several bodies before exiting the mess. But hey, whatever works. Everyone got involved in MU’s offensive attack, as seven Tigers had shots on goal. Missouri’s starting defenders (junior Crystal Wagner, senior Janelle Cordia and senior Kat Tarr) played all 90 minutes.
Get used to seeing that, though. While Blitz frequently rotates his forwards and midfielders to keep his attackers fresh, he likes to keep his back three together. Most teams play with four defenders, meaning the communication between MU’s back three has to be near flawless. More time on the field with the same players translates into better communication between those players, or at least that’s what Blitz is hoping for his defenders.