Last weekend, a highly-touted freshman trio wreaked havoc on Eastern Illinois’ gameplan en route to eight combined shots, a goal and Missouri’s first women’s soccer victory of the season, a 4-1 home win.
A steady diet of midfielders Kaysie Clark, Abi Raymer and goal scorer Taylor Grant will certainly be on coach Bryan Blitz’s menu this weekend as well. First up is No. 7 Ohio State on Friday evening before a Sunday matinee against Purdue closes out a tough three-day stretch.
“We can’t get two losses in a row,” Clark said. “Sunday is the day where we have to step it up and get a win.”
In order for MU (1-1) to find success against the Buckeyes (2-0), they’ll have to rely on not only their dynamic freshmen but an improved threesome of sophomores as well. Preseason all-Big 12 selection Dominique Richardson has had a slow start while fellow midfielder Danielle Nottingham and speedy forward Alyssa Diggs must maintain their strong presence on the pitch.
“The pressure is still on,” Diggs said. “We’re gonna have to come out hard and finishing hard and if we can attack them, push forward and do that against Ohio State, I think we’ll be good.”
Ohio State boasts a strong squad that includes former Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, senior forward Paige Maxwell, as well as a renowned contingent of underclassmen headed up by freshman Kiiri Kuld and sophomore Aly Walker, both of whom already have two goals to their name. The Buckeyes destroyed their first two opponents, outshooting in-state rival Xavier 27-2 en route to a 1-0 win before following that up with a 4-0 victory over Radford.
“We’re trying to get our team to have that sense of urgency from the first minute until the end of the game,” Blitz said. “We played Illinois, we played San Diego, and we pride ourselves on playing a hard schedule. We’ll take some lumps here and there but we look forward to playing teams like Ohio State and Purdue.”
Although Friday’s fixture looms large and Ohio State’s dynamic attack undoubtedly commands the Tigers’ attention, it would be unwise to neglect the Purdue Boilermakers who come calling on Sunday afternoon.
The Boilermakers (1-1) utilized freshman Alex Hairston’s goal in the 61st minute to knock off an upstart Toledo squad before falling to No. 13 West Virginia in Morgantown in a closely contested match. With a strong backline and newcomer Clara Kridler in goal, Purdue will likely be aggressive in attacking Missouri’s veteran defense core.
Fans can catch a double dose of Tigers’ soccer action this weekend at Audrey J. Walton Stadium as Missouri takes on No. 7 Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. Friday night before ending a three-game home stand against the Boilermakers at 1 p.m. Sunday.