Box scores don’t always tell the whole story. Such was the case Sunday afternoon as No. 24 Missouri soccer welcomed UM-Kansas City to Walton Stadium.
The Tigers prevailed 3-0 over the in-state foe, but the game was much closer than the final statistics would suggest.
UMKC (1-5-3) stymied MU the entire first half, as the score was 0-0 at the midway point.
The Tigers finally broke through in the 52nd minute, as senior midfielder Kelsey Blincow buried a cross from sophomore forward Alyssa Diggs.
“The first goal is always nice, especially in a tight game like that,” Blincow said. “It relieves the pressure and lets everyone calm down a bit and just play.”
UMKC’s seven-back defense kept the visitors in the game most of the second half. It wasn’t until the 85th minute that the Tigers added an insurance goal to seal the deal.
Diggs scored her fourth goal of the season off a rebound, and fellow sophomore midfielder Dominique Richardson followed that up with a goal of her own on a penalty shot just over a minute later. The goal came after a UMKC defender committed a handball in the box.
“It was a good game, they did a great job of frustrating us,” coach Bryan Blitz said. “In the past I think we would have lost that game. We were all frustrated but we held it together and I think in the end we wore them out a bit.”
The Tigers may have only scored three times, but they outshot UMKC 32-6. The chances were there. They just could not finish for most of the game.
The late offensive burst came in large part thanks to Diggs, whom coach Blitz has wanted to amp up the aggression.
“Coach (Blitz) has been telling me that I need to be more selfish with the ball when attacking,” Diggs said. “That’s what I’m trying to do, just trying to stay in that attacking mindset.”
That much was evident Sunday, as Diggs had a hand in all three of MU’s scores.
Sunday’s victory concluded non-conference play on a high note, as the team’s 8-2 mark heading into conference play leaves it with one more win than it had all of last year.
“Our confidence is really high going into conference play, even though we lost the other night to Florida,” junior Jessica Greer said. “We grew a lot, found out a lot about ourselves and we never quit in that game. The chemistry is there as a team, and really with all of us in the back.
The team’s tough non-conference schedule, a strong defense that has shut out five of its last six opponents and a balanced offensive attack have coach Blitz believing in his team entering the conference portion of the schedule.
“We’re in a good place going into conference,” Blitz said. “It seems we’ve played every conference and every style in non-conference, which has prepared us well.”
The Tigers will be tested immediately in conference play. Next weekend, they will travel to face both Texas Tech. and No. 6 Oklahoma State on the road.
