The MU women’s soccer team made amends for its slow start Friday night, jumping all over the visiting Eastern Illinois Panthers Sunday evening to claim their home opener with a 4-1 result.
After a season-opening loss to San Diego on Friday evening, Missouri (1-1) notched an early tally thanks to sophomore forward Alyssa Diggs in the seventh minute. The speedy forward dribbled past a defender into the penalty box before drilling a rocket into the back of the net unassisted as Eastern Illinois keeper Jessica Taldone could do nothing but watch.
Taldone would see her fair share of action over the opening half as EIU (0-2) never challenged the Missouri back line and subsequently played plenty of defense against the home team’s young guns. Touted freshman Kaysie Clark launched a shot that landed just wide in the 17th minute before Haley Krentz, the lone goal scorer in Friday’s fixture, drilled a rebound off the crossbar.
With time winding down in the opening half, Diggs went to work and created two more opportunities that the Tigers failed to cash in and the favored home squad headed to the locker room ahead by a goal.
The tide continued to swing Missouri’s way when play resumed and the Tigers got back on the board via midfielder Danielle Nottingham’s slippery touch in the 52nd minute. Midfielder Abi Raymer’s through ball on a quick Missouri counterattack provided the space that Nottingham needed to find her range.
Missouri wasn’t done, as senior midfielder Kelsey Blincow slipped left in the 69th minute and squeezed her shot past Taldone for the Tigers’ third goal of the night. The unforced error took the wind out of the feisty Ohio Valley Conference squad’s sails.
Just seven minutes after Blincow lit up the scoreboard, her assist off a throw-in provided another freshman, midfielder Taylor Grant, a golden opportunity for her first career goal as a Tiger. The freshman took advantage, burying the ball in the back of a wide-open net to widen the gulf to a 4-0 Missouri advantage.
The Tigers let off the gas a little bit as the clock wound down and a sloppy pass in their own box led to an EIU goal in the final minutes.
Despite a handsome recovery that netted his growing squad a 4-1 victory, coach Brian Blitz said he was none too pleased about his team’s inability to finish numerous chances ahead of two key match-ups.
“When you play Ohio State, you have to finish those chances or else they’ll come back to haunt you,” the 16-year veteran said afterward. “We know we have a longer leash with the freshman and if they’re out there, they’re ready to go.”
Blitz doesn’t need to give too much leash to heavily recruited Kansas City product, Kaysie Clark, who left her prints all over the game.
“It’s exciting to get the first win early on,” Clark said. “We have a strong group of girls and the older girls really help us out and make it possible for the freshman to succeed.”
Although Clark heads up a fabulous freshman trio that included Grant and Raymer, it was the more experienced play from sophomore Diggs and captain Blincow that provided the catalyst for the second half surge that put Missouri on top to stay.
“We’re trying to teach the younger kids how to play our system and keep pressing,” Diggs said. “There’s a lot of potential out there and I’m really excited for this season because I can already see us coming together.”
Missouri’s highly touted class faces a steep learning curve with perennial powerhouse Ohio State visiting at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Columbia before their fellow Big Ten squad, the Purdue Boilermakers, invades the Audrey J. Walton Complex on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
