Mizzou Soccer Media Day Update
By: Ben Burke
With the postseason right around the corner, the Missouri soccer team discussed its last matchup of the regular season. The Tigers also talked about the possibility of winning the SEC regular season championship.
This week’s media day came right in the middle of the most important part of the Missouri soccer season; as with one game to go, the Tigers were one win away from at least a share of the SEC regular season title. At media day Wednesday, senior defender Candace Johnson talked about her mindset with such an important game on the horizon.
“Until about midnight tonight that’s going to be on my mind, but tomorrow it’s game time,” Johnson said. “I have to play how I always play, we as a team we have to play how we always play and we can’t focus on what can happen at the end of the game. We have to focus on the then and now, and we just have to make sure that we pay attention to the little things, and we talk and we communicate and we support each other on the field so that we can get that championship afterwards.”
In the Tigers’ way was a Texas A&M team that had lost to Ole Miss earlier in the week. According to Johnson, this loss made the Aggies even more dangerous.
“Any team that’s coming off a loss, especially this end of the season when they’re trying to make sure they secure their spot in the championship tournament, they’re going to come out even harder than the game before so for us we just have to be ready for anything.” Johnson said. “They’re going to come out hard, they’re going to give a lot of energy and we have to match that if not be better than that.”
The Tigers and Aggies fought to a 1-1 draw on Thursday night, and Missouri finished the regular season second in the SEC. According to head coach Bryan Blitz; Thursday would not be the biggest test for the Tigers.
“We still have to go to Orange Beach three days later and try to perform there, and hopefully from there, try to go to the NCAA tournament so we just said ‘yeah it’s another game,’” said Blitz.
Missouri received a first round bye in the SEC tournament, and will play the winner of the Kentucky/LSU match on Wednesday, Nov. 4.