Tiger soccer prepares for Border Showdown

The Tigers start Big 12 play with a 2-4-2 record on the season.

By Pat Iversen

Published Sept. 24, 2010

After a grueling nonconference schedule, the Missouri Tigers soccer team will begin Big 12 play Friday against rival Kansas in the annual Border War Rivalry. The Tigers are 7-10-1 all-time against Kansas.

The Tigers (2-4-2) are coming off an up-and-down weekend that ended in a disappointing fashion. After rallying to defeat Loyola 3-2 in two overtimes last Friday, Missouri fell to Wisconsin-Milwaukee by a score of 3-2 two days later. Despite the outcome, coach Bryan Blitz said the team worked hard to shake off the loss in preparation for the Kansas game.

“I’d say they’re very focused after last weekend, and they feel confident,” Blitz said. “They know it’s the first conference game, and they know it’s the Border War. Obviously any conference game is going to be a war, but I think they’re in a good place. They’ve worked hard, and they’ve had a hard schedule.”

The last time the Tigers and Jayhawks met was in the first round of the 2009 Big 12 tournament, and Missouri escaped with a 3-2 overtime victory off the foot of senior Kristin Andrighetto. Although this year’s team is without star veterans such as Andrighetto and goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore, senior captain Alysha Bonnick said the team’s youth doesn’t dampen any energy for the rivalry.

“I think we do get really pumped up for the Border War,” Bonnick said. “But obviously the freshmen don’t as much, because they’re not used to the tradition. But practice this week has been up to par, and we’re going to show up to play.”

Leading up to the Kansas game, the team has been focused on improving its play in the back. Missouri ranks last among Big 12 teams in goals allowed per game (2.20) and goals allowed (19). The competition has admittedly been tough, but senior captain Kari Adam said letting teams back into games has been an issue.

“We’ve looked through a lot of the reasons why we’ve been letting goals in later in games, and we’ve looked at ways to fix that,” Adam said. “We just need to have the mentality that we have in the first 15 minutes throughout the whole game. We’ve been working on coming out and bringing that same energy in the second half that we do in the first.”

Kansas’s non-conference schedule looked slightly similar to Missouri’s, as both teams played Northwestern and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. But, the Tigers have played three games against Top 25 teams, which Blitz believes sets his team apart from other Big 12 schools.

“I just hope that we’ve put ourselves in a position by going out (against difficult teams),” Blitz said. “We believe the schedule is good for our program. Once conference comes around we feel like we’ll be prepared.”

With last season’s National Tournament snub still fresh in their minds, the Tigers are banking on a higher Ratings Percentage Index, which is a method of ranking teams based on their opponents, and a successful conference tournament to push them further this year. But first Missouri must withstand weeks of Big 12 games, and Adam stressed the importance of a fast start.

“I think conference play is just more of a reality that we really need to get it together and come out strong,” Adam said. “I think that it’s just important that we come out and set the tone for the game. Obviously all of the games matter, but these next few games really play a role into making the tournament.”