Tigers head to Texas for weekend road trip
The Tigers look to keep their Big 12 record unblemished.
Published Oct. 2, 2009
This weekend, the Tigers women's soccer team travels to Texas in search of two more Big 12 victories.
After knocking off Oklahoma State last Sunday 3-2 at Walton Stadium, the Tigers ride a wave of momentum into contests with the Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies this weekend.
Friday night's game in Austin pits Missouri against a 4-6-1 Texas team coming off its first tie of the season against Baylor.
Sunday's game in College Station has much more hype surrounding it. The Aggies are 7-4 and ranked No. 16 in the nation in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.
Texas A&M shared preseason favorites honors with the Tigers in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll, and the game will be aired on ESPNU.
"It's a cliché, but for us it's just another game," coach Bryan Blitz said. "I think that's all hype, and when you get down to it, it's two good teams that will play on Friday and two good teams that will play on Sunday. It's an honor for the university, it's an honor for the program, but besides that it becomes another soccer game."
Blitz's players said their first priority was battling with the Longhorns on Friday, but the big game against Texas A&M was also on their minds.
"A&M," senior midfielder Bree Thornton said. "It's always a big game. It's always fun playing there at their stadium, that crazy atmosphere. I'm excited. It's my senior year, my last time to play there. The fact that it's televised makes it a lot of fun."
The conference honored Thornton earlier this week as the Big 12 Co-offensive Player of the Week for her three goals and one assist in last weekend's games against Northern Iowa and Oklahoma State.
"She embodies what a great competitor is," Blitz said. "It shows an example to the rest of our team, and especially our younger players, how hard you have to work day in, day out, practice, school, games to really be successful. It's a shining example of how hard work pays off."
Besides publishing a national poll, the NSCAA also puts out several regional polls. In the Central region, the Aggies are ranked second, and the Tigers are ranked eighth.
The Aggies have had mixed results against ranked teams this season, going 2-2 against ranked opponents. They have beaten two top 10 teams at home, USC and Portland, and they have lost to two ranked teams on the road, California and North Carolina.
Texas A&M has lost one game in College Station so far this season, a 3-2 defeat by Purdue. They will host the Kansas Jayhawks before the Tigers come to town.
"We definitely have the momentum off our win," senior forward Kristin Andrighetto said. "We're playing well, so as long as we bring that into our games this weekend, we have the ability to come out on top."
The Tigers defeated the Aggies in College Station last season 3-0 when Texas A&M was ranked sixth in the country. Missouri will be out for revenge against the Longhorns, as Texas bested the Tigers at home 2-1 a year ago.
Friday's game in Austin is set for 7 p.m., and the Tigers and Aggies will battle at 4 p.m. Sunday. That game can be seen on ESPNU.
