When Missouri coach Bryan Blitz discusses his three senior soccer players, there is a recurring word: proud.
Blitz said he’s proud of McKenzie Sauerwein, Kaysie Clark and Taylor Grant and the way they’ve represented the program academically, socially and athletically.
“They’ve become really great adults,” he said. “Their leadership has really grown, and I couldn’t have been prouder of any three seniors that we’ve had.”
Sauerwein is the longest tenured Tiger, now in her fifth year in the program. She holds the Mizzou records for most career shutouts, wins, saves, games played, games started in goal and minutes played in goal.
The morning of Missouri’s “senior day” game against Alabama on Oct. 19, Grant approached Sauerwein regarding the day.
“Kenzie, you’re not going to cry,” Grant joked. “You don’t have emotions.”
Sauerwein admitted it was an emotional day — and season — for her. She said this year’s team is as close as they’ve ever been.
“It’s exciting that I’m about to start a new chapter in my life, but at the same time I’m going to miss the team and all the girls,” she said.
Grant said she thinks the same. She said what stands out to her is the “stupid stuff.”
“Obviously winning games and stuff is important, but if you’ve won enough games, they start to blur together,” Grant said. “The things that have stood out are the memories with the girls.”
Grant, a native of The Colony, Texas, has scored 15 goals and notched 10 assists, totalling for 37 points in 74 games in her Tiger career thus far. She is currently tied for the team lead in goals this year with six tallies.
Playing between Taylor and Sauerwein on the pitch, Clark has been a force at midfield for the Tigers for four years. In 75 games at Missouri thus far, Clark has scored 14 goals, recorded 20 assists and racked up a total 48 points for the Tigers.
Clark said her collegiate soccer career started off rough, but she became more comfortable and made adjustments over the years. Clark was named to the All-SEC first team her junior year, a season in which she led the Tigers in both points (15) and goals (six).
The 5-foot-5-inch midfielder from Liberty, Missouri, has gotten to experience her senior season alongside her best friend and sister Kaitlyn Clark.
“This year is special because this is a new team and we’ve come together,” Kaysie Clark said. “But for me personally, just playing with my sister means so much.”
She said she hopes to play professionally after college. However, she said she is going to miss all the experiences and people from Mizzou, as playing professionally will be different.
Sauerwein has similar plans. Ask her what she wants to do after college and her answer is simple: “I want to play.”
Sauerwein doesn’t want to play in the United States after college. She said she would prefer to play goalkeeper in an English-speaking country, but is also interested in Germany and Sweden.
Grant is different. This is it for her, soccer is over after this season.
She said she plans on moving to Dallas after graduation. There, she will enroll in secondary education and begin to dive into her goal of coaching soccer.
Blitz said he is most proud of how the three girls have grown throughout their Tiger tenures.
“They’ve all excelled in different areas,” Blitz said. “They came in as 18-year-olds, and now they’re maturing as young women. They’re really going to make an impact when they leave here.”