Newest MU soccer players share common background

COLUMBIA — When she was being recruited as a soccer player in high school, McKenzie Sauerwein visited MU, came back home and told one of the players on her club soccer team her thoughts.

“We talked about it after I had my first visit,” said Sauerwein about a conversation with Danielle Nottingham. “We talked about how it was, and we both loved it.”

Nottingham remembered Sauerwein being positive.

"She said it was really fun,” Nottingham said. "I asked about how the coaches were and how the girls were, and she told me a little bit of her opinion of them.”

At the time, Nottingham and Sauerwein were members of the Dallas Sting '92, and by their junior year in high school both had committed to the Tigers. The pair wasn’t set on coming to the Tigers together, but Missouri fit both their tastes.

“We were kind of focused on what we wanted, and we both fell in love with it,” Sauerwein, a goalkeeper, said.

Nottingham said already knowing one of her teammates helped her transition once she came to MU.

“It’s good because you know someone will always be there for you,” Nottingham, a midfielder/forward, said. “It’s nice because you already have one friend, at least, to start out with.”

Nottingham and Sauerwein lived in different parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area while playing for the Sting, but they still spent some time together.

“We hung out a few times,” Sauerwein said.

Now, the two are suitemates in South Residence Hall, along with fellow freshmen Alyssa Diggs and Alex Charlebois. Diggs played club soccer for the Dallas Texans '92, another club team and a common opponent of the Sting.

“It’s just kind of nice that they’re from the same area and we have a lot things in common,” Sauerwein said.

Nottingham said sharing a suite leads to the group's spending time together off the field.

“We’re usually over in their room watching TV or doing other stuff,” Nottingham said.

Coming from the same area could also help when it comes to going back home for visits.

“We haven’t had much time to go visit, but hopefully in the future we’ll get some road trips in there,” Sauerwein said.