Soccer Falls to Missouri 3-0

Friday, October 13

Columbia, Mo.

6 p.m.

Colorado

7-5-2, 1-4-1Big 12

Missouri

9-6-0, 1-5-0Big 12

Colorado

Missouri

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

October 13, 2006 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Lindsay Lew, Associate SID

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Friday the 13th proved to be a nightmare for the No. 25 University of Colorado women's soccer team as they fell to the University of Missouri by a score of 3-0 here at Audrey Walton Stadium.

Missouri, now 10-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, earned their first conference win and first over Colorado in three tries. The Buffs fall to 7-5-2 overall, 1-4-1 in the Big 12 and searching for answers after their third consecutive loss and winning just one game in their last six.

"They deserved to win and tonight we deserved to lose," said Colorado head coach Bill Hempen. "It's a shame because we started the season off playing so well and I thought we were on the right track with this group. At this point they've lost a lot of confidence and I think some of their ability to think on their own and it's hard to swallow for my seniors."

The first half wrapped up 0-0, but the course of play was a harbinger of things to come as Missouri had the better of the action, outshooting Colorado nine to five. The Buffaloes got two shots apiece from freshmen Nikki Marshall and Kelly Ross, but neither could get one to go, though there were four were on goal. Sophomore Kirstin Radlinski pulled in six saves on all six MU first half shots on goal.

The storyline changed in the second half as Missouri took over. The Tigers netted their first goal off a corner kick. The ball was loose inside the box off the set piece and the Buffaloes were not able to clear it. MU freshman Kristin Andrighetto got behind it and hit a well-struck ball over Radlinski into the upper 90 of the net to make it 1-0 at 55:41.

"We were careless in the back as far as clearance," said Hempen. "They were in our end and we couldn't get it out and then it seemed like every time we were going to get out, we played it back to them and eventually it cost us."

The Buffs nearly equalized when Marshall hit the post, and it bounced back and went off the Tigers' Jessica Lewis, but the ball rolled safely out of bounds instead of into the Missouri goal at the 70:17 mark.

"At that point, we were okay, we were in the box, Marshall hits the post and it's off the keeper and out of bounds instead of in the goal, but we were still in it," said Hempen. "But again we couldn't get out of our end."

MU would get on the board again with 15 minutes left when Breanna Thornton hit a shot and Lauren Grice was there to finish the rebound inside the left post at the 75:13 mark.

"It was just another case of again we were in our box and we couldn't get it out," said Hempen. "We get stripped instead of clearing it and they basically had an open net."

The third goal came off an Andrighetto pass into the box, which Thornton hit with her right foot into the lower left part of the goal at the 82:13 mark. At that point Colorado had been playing with two defenders in the back trying to get things going offensively.

CU was shutout for just the third time this year despite getting 10 shots off in the game. Marshall led the way in that category with four total, two of which were on goal. Missouri goalkeeper Lewis pulled in four saves on the day, while Radlinski finished with seven saves on 17 total shots, 10 on goal. Colorado is now 6-8-1 all time against Missouri.

The Buffaloes will ride the bus north to Ames, Iowa, to face the Iowa State Cyclones this Sunday, Oct. 15 at noon MDT. The Cyclones fell 2-0 to the Kansas Jayhawks in Ames on Friday evening.