A Border Showdown rematch is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas, when the Missouri women's soccer team plays Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship tournament. A week ago the Tigers handed the Jayhawks an embarrassing 6-0 loss at Walton Stadium on Halloween.
Fifteenth-ranked No. 15 Missouri advanced to the semifinals by upsetting defending tournament champion Texas 3-1 on Wednesday. No. 9 Texas (12-3-4) was the last of three Big 12 teams to hand the Tigers a regular-season loss. The Longhorns persevered 2-1 on October 26 in a physical match at Walton Stadium.
Tigers goalie Tasha Dittamore recorded six saves in Wednesday's victory, earning her 14th victory and setting a new Missouri school record.
"We were all frustrated that Texas had beat us the last time we played," Dittamore said on Thursday. "So the entire team entered the game with the mindset that we were not going to let them beat us again."
The Jayhawks, seeded seventh, also dusted off the school's record books in their 4-2 opening-round victory Wednesday against second-seeded Texas A&M. The four goals tied a Kansas postseason record and advanced the team to the semifinals.
But the wound the Tigers inflicted was still raw for Jayhawks coach Mark Francis.
"The big thing is beating A&M after being spanked by Missouri last Friday," Francis said after Wednesday's victory.
The Tigers, who lost 4-1 to Texas A&M in last year's semifinals, say they are prepared for an all-out battle against the Jayhawks.
"We know that they are going to be coming at us hard, because it was not a pretty loss for them," Dittamore said. "But our team is willing to push as hard as possible, because we all want this more than anything."