Tiger soccer takes down Northern Iowa 8-0
The Missouri women’s soccer team bounced back from a disappointing trip to Los Angeles last weekend with an 8-0 blanking of Northern Iowa at Walton Stadium Friday night.
After not scoring a single goal in two games last weekend as part of the UCLA Women’s Cup, Missouri exploded Friday for eight goals. It is most they have scored in a single game since 2001, when they posted a 12-0 shutout of Arkansas-Little Rock.
Freshman midfielder and defender Jessica Greer scored two goals on the night, both in the second half.
The other Missouri goal scorers included junior forward Alysha Bonnick, senior midfielder Meghan Pfeiffer, senior midfielder Michelle Makasini, senior midfielder Bree Thornton, freshman midfielder Haley Krentz and sophomore forward Kendra Collins.
The Tigers dominated every aspect of the game, outshooting the Panthers 38-2. It was a refreshing change of pace for Missouri, who struggled to find the back of the net while in California.
Even with the massive offensive output Friday, the Tigers have their sights firmly set on Sunday’s start of conference play against Oklahoma State.
They are also focused on turning last weekend into a positive.
“It’s all about conference play,” coach Bryan Blitz said. “That’s why we put ourselves on the line a little by traveling to Auburn and traveling to UCLA. We weren’t really concerned about our record, more preparing so when we start on Sunday we are more prepared.”
Blitz has his players thinking the same way.
“I think that weekend helped us prepare for conference,” Thornton said. “More than tonight even. Getting a lot of goals tonight will be more of a confidence booster than anything else. We know we can do it, and tonight we saw it. We have the results.”
There’s certainly little doubt the Tigers are looking to conference play to help get their season back on to the winning path. Their game with Oklahoma State will give the Tigers a chance to do something they haven’t done so far this season -- win at home on a Sunday.
“I think the Sunday games for everybody are always a mental and physical challenge,” Blitz said. “We need to find a way to put it together on a Sunday.”
Missouri will have that opportunity when they hit the field at 1 p.m.