The Missouri Tigers and the Illinois Fighting Illini played to a 1-1 draw in Friday afternoon’s exhibition soccer match at a rain-soaked Walton Stadium in Columbia.
Scoring chances were few and far between for both sides throughout the first half, but play would open up in the second half as early season nerves dissipated.
In the 55th minute, MU sophomore midfielder/forward Danielle Nottingham stole the ball from an Illini defender just outside the box and fired a shot past the right of the Illinois keeper, giving MU a 1-0 lead.
However, that lead would be short-lived as the Fighting Illini answered nine minutes later with a goal of their own. Illinois sophomore midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo buried the ball into the back of the net off of a rebound, directly after a fantastic point blank save made by MU’s Caroline Stanley, a true freshman seeing her first collegiate match experience.
Play was back-and-forth following the equalizer by the Illini, with each team squandering multiple opportunities off of set pieces. Missouri threatened in the waning moments, but could not come up with the go-ahead goal as sophomore forward Alyssa Diggs fired a shot off the crossbar in the 85th minute and junior midfielder Haley Krentz put a shot just wide from 25 yards out in the 87th.
Friday’s exhibition was a learning experience for Missouri, as the team welcomed nine true freshmen to the roster. A handful of the newcomers, highlighted by Stanley and freshman forward Kaysie Clark, saw plenty of action against the Illini.
Missouri coach Bryan Blitz came away from the match very encouraged by what the youngsters showed him.
“We’re happy with our young players, they got to see what this level is like today, and overall we saw some good stuff from them,” Blitz said. “You’re going to see this group score a lot of goals and be exciting for the fans to watch.”
Clark was the freshman to watch in the first half, as the Liberty native placed a pair of shots on target in the first half. The Tigers as a team only produced one other shot the entire half.
As the game progressed, the Tigers’ nerves settled, and play was tighter.
“There were lots of nerves out there but I’m glad that I got that first one [game] out of the way,” Clark said. “I’m glad we have this preseason game; it’ll help with the regular season games coming up.”
Missouri will kick off the regular season next Friday night at San Diego before returning to Columbia for a four-game home stand.
The team is looking forward to its upcoming travels, but realizes it is on a business trip, not a vacation.
“It’s going to be a very good team bonding experience; getting to go to the beach will be fun,” Nottingham said. “It’ll also be good for us as a team to be playing west coast teams that play a different style as we come together as a team.”
