Extra notes from soccer victory over Vanderbilt
Junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore picked up her third shutout of the season against Vanderbilt Friday.
The play of junior goalkeeper Tasha Dittamore has been one of the biggest bright spots for Missouri's soccer team early this year. Dittamore recorded her third shutout of the season in Friday's 3-0 win vs. Vanderbilt. Dittamore used to struggle when playing the ball with her feet. "Coming in, I'm not going to lie, my feet were awful," she said. "They were really, really bad, and that was my weak point in my game. Last spring, Molly (assistant coach Molly Schneider) worked with me a lot, with my kicks, with my feet, with my touch, and she really helped me out a lot."
Now, MU's defenders feel comfortable playing the ball back to Dittamore when they need help, Dittamore said. Missouri's 3-4-3 formation puts heavy pressure on defenders Janelle Cordia, Kat Tarr and Crystal Wagner, so having Dittamore as an outlet makes it easier on the Tigers' back three.
Missouri's attack keeps the ball on opponent's side of the field much of the time, meaning Dittamore can go long stretches without seeing any action. But when MU's press breaks down and opponents counter, Dittamore often has to make several plays in a row. "You just have to be ready for everything all the time, so it's not that big of a deal," she said.
Missouri's inability to score in the first half is becoming a big deal to coach Bryan Blitz. Vanderbilt isn't the first team this season to make it difficult for MU to play the ball into the box through the air, but it took the Tigers 59 minutes to figure out another way to score.
Blitz said the Tigers need to use the width of the field to create scoring opportunities. That means Missouri's wingers (junior Bree Thornton, senior Lindsay McCoy and freshman Kelsey Blincow) will be key in getting the ball to MU's forwards. Thornton set up sophomore forward Alysha Bonnick for MU's first goal Friday. Bonnick's goal looked much cleaner and fluid than many of MU's goals this season.
While a goal is a goal, Blitz said it was nice to see Bonnick's smooth finish. "We've been working with the forwards all week long about being a little bit cleaner, especially on this wet surface and short grass," he said.
