A tough road to the Big 12 can provide valuable experience and is considered necessary to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Whatever the reason, whatever the belief, Missouri’s tough non-conference schedule has helped infuse a youth-dominated team with a shot of confidence and assured coach Bryan Blitz and his team that they can compete with anyone in the nation.
Two years after being squeezed out of the tournament picture despite being Big 12 Champions and boasting a stellar record of 13-6-3, Blitz has bought into the idea of playing as tough a schedule as possible to serve a couple of crucial purposes.
“This schedule prepares us for conference,” Blitz said. “No doubt about it, we are ready to go when Big 12 play comes around. And yeah, this can contribute to the cause for the big goal (of making the NCAA tournament) too.”
Although the Tigers couldn’t overcome their growing pains in 2010, they learned a lot from trips to North Carolina and Maryland where they played a trio of ACC powers that included No. 1 North Carolina, No. 16 Maryland and No. 19 Duke. They also welcomed perennial power Wisconsin-Milwaukee to Columbia while traveling to Chicago to take on Northwestern and DePaul.
That brutal schedule contributed in part to a 7-10-2 record that mired the Tigers with an RPI of 78, but the invaluable learning experience has shone through this year with a young core of players.
Sophomore midfielder Dominique Richardson was a preseason all-Big 12 selection and has backed it up with a team leading four goals as fellow sophomore forward Alyssa Diggs has four goals to her credit as well.
The Tigers have raced out to an 8-2 mark after a slate that featured a trip to Tempe, Ariz., where Missouri toppled Pac-12 foes Arizona and Arizona State to grab the Sun Devil Desert Classic.
MU gave a harsh welcome to No. 7 Ohio State a couple weeks ago, upsetting the Buckeyes with a strong 1-0 performance before knocking off Big Ten opponent Purdue two days later.
Blitz admits that a season-opening 2-1 loss at No. 19 San Diego was a valuable teaching tool for his batch of freshmen and sophomores.
“We learned a lot about starting out games the right way,” Blitz said.
With their only other loss coming last Friday to No. 8 Florida, the Tigers feel confident about their chances heading into conference play.
“We’re playing together right now,” Diggs said. “We’ve had good performances against ranked teams and I feel good heading into conference. We’re gonna do big things.”
By traveling to big name programs, Missouri has pushed their recruiting into overdrive as well, landing the ninth-ranked class for 2011 according to TopDrawerSoccer.com.
The freshmen contingent that includes dynamic Kansas City midfielder Kaysie Clark, ranked 14th overall for her class, has chipped in for a combined five goals as the unique physical style that Blitz employs bullies other teams into mistakes.
Perhaps the biggest harbinger of success moving forward is the play of the veteran back-line and redshirt freshman goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwein.
Despite the challenging schedule, the Tigers have outshot their opponents by an impressive margin of 181-107 and outscored them 20-7 over the opening 10 games via suffocating defense.
With conference play opening up on the road at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State next weekend, junior midfielder Jessica Greer believes the schedule has readied her team.
“You see where you stand when you play good team,” Greer said. “We see ourselves as a top contender to win the Big 12 this year.”
